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The Violin Maker 


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“7/e took it in hand and drew the bow across it.”— Page 134 


The Violin Maker 


From the Original of 
Otto von Schaching 


by 

SARA TRAINER SMITH 


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1 1 


New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : 

BENZIGER BROTHERS, 

Printers to the Holy Apostolic See. 

1905. 



U&RARY of 'MWaREsS, 

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1 


Copyright, 1905, by Benziger Brothers. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 


I. Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 7 

II. He Loves and Loses His First Master. 17 

III. Matthias Goes to Cremona, Where He 

Finds Friends and Enemies 25 

IV. The Statue of Saint Cecilia 37 

V. Master Amati Punishes Matthias’ As- 
sailants 46 

VI. Klotz Leaves Cremona and Seeks His 

Fortune 56 

VII. Brave Violin Maker Saves Life of Mar- 
quis Cresci 73 

VIII. Thanks Are Reward Enough for the 

Heroic Klotz 83 

IX. In Padua with Master Railike 92 

X. The Master Makes a Proposition 105 

XI. The Mitten walder Returns to Home 

and Father 114 

XII. Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil. 132 

XIII. Makes Mittenwald the Cremona of 

Germany 143 


5 


I 


The Violin Maker 


CHAPTER I. 

MATTHIAS HEARS THE RING OF THE TREES. 

In the southern part of Bavaria the wilder- 
ness of the Karwendel mountains stretches away 
toward the frontier of Bavarian-Tyrol, its 
weather-beaten precipices rising almost three 
thousand metres into the floating weft of clouds. 
The lovely market-town of Mittenwald nestles 
at their base, where the green Isar, their bois- 
terous child, rushes noisily past. The stately 
pine forests surround it in wide, sweeping ranks, 
in whose depths the shaggy brown bear has 
dwelt for centuries, monarch of the German 
wild-wood. 


7 


8 Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 

One morning in June of the year 1663 a man 
went, climbing and scrambling, through the for- 
est which lies behind Mittenwald, toward Schar- 
nitz-in-the-Tyrol. He was in the prime of life, 
tall and strong of frame, and of a shrewd, intel- 
ligent countenance. He carried in his right hand 
an iron hammer with a short handle, and with it 
he tapped now one and now another of the tall 
trees — giant pines and firs which towered on 
high like church steeples — placing his ear to 
their trunks and listening to the sounds his 
hammer awakened as they trembled into silence. 
Often he shook his head and murmured to him- 
self, dissatisfied ; but each time a tree answered 
to the call of the hammer with a ringing sound 
he marked its bark with a certain sign. 

This search in the depths of the silent forest 
had continued for several hours, when the height 
of the sun in the heavens, its full strength beat- 
ing upon the mountain slope, warned him that 
it was time to rest. He had scarcely seated him- 
self on a stone, cushioned with soft moss, when 
he heard the clear sound of a small bell, and, 
looking around, saw some goats clattering down 


Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 9 

over the rolling stones of the hillside and slowly 
approaching him. Their keeper was a hand- 
some, brown-haired boy. 

“What do they call thee, my little man?” 
questioned the stranger, upon whom the boy’s 
dark eyes looked fearlessly. 

“I am called Matthias Klotz.” 

“And whence comest thou?” 

“From Mittenwald. My father is a tailor 
there.” 

“And thou — what art thou to be some day?” 
continued the stranger, with friendly curiosity. 

Matthias was silent for a little; his healthy, 
brown cheeks flushed red. 

“Ah, sir,” he said, hesitating, “I would like 

to be something more than a tailor. But ” 

He stopped. 

“Well?” said the man looking at him with 
mild eyes. “Why dost thou fear to say it? 
Speak freely and open thy little heart to me. 
I am the violin maker, J acob Stainer, of Absam- 
in-the-Tyrol ; thou needst have no fear of me.” 

At these words the boy’s eyes opened wide; 
he looked with astonishment at this man, who 


10 Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 

sat' there talking to him as if he had known 
him for years. 

“Sir, yon are ” he began, and stopped in 

wondering admiration of the stranger. 

“The violin maker, Stainer,” said the other, 
laughing. “Hast thou already heard of me, 
little man?” 

“Oh, sir, that I certainly have!” replied the 
delighted boy. “You are a very famous man — 
the one who makes the fine violins. Oh, sir — if 
only I could — if I could be a violin maker !” 

“ Ah !” said Stainer, in a pleased tone. “But 
thy father? What would he say to thy wish? 
Would he, I mean, join with thee in wishing 
it?” 

“Oh, sir, he wishes it himself!” cried Mat- 
thias, eagerly. “But my father is too poor — 
and ” 

“I understand,” interrupted Stainer. “How, 
poverty shall be no hindrance, my dear Mat- 
thias, to thy desire. I will gladly take thee 
with me to my school at Absam.” 

“What! Truly, sir? Will you do that? Oh, 
how happy I shall be !” 


Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 11 

In another moment Matthias would have 
thrown himself on his knees before the famous 
violin maker, whose instruments enjoyed such 
well-deserved fame, but Stainer perceived his 
intention and prevented him. 

“Wilt thou promise to be a good, industrious 
scholar?” he asked, with an earnest look. 

“I will promise anything, sir !” cried the boy, 
with glad, tremulous lips. “I will do anything 
for you — I will go through fire and water for 
you — only take me with you, I beg with all my 
heart !” 

Stainer found more and more to attract him 
in the bright, wide-awake lad, who talked so 
sensibly and pleasingly for his years, and whose 
whole bearing showed that he would prove a 
satisfactory scholar. The violin maker took 
the hammer from his girdle where he carried 
it and handed it to the boy, with these words : 

“Here ! Take this and make thy first trial. 
If it succeeds, then art thou my dear scholar 
from this day. Strike once on a tree near 
thee, and then lay thine ear near to its trunk. 
Thou must listen attentively and then tell me 


12 Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 

how it sounds to thee. Dost thou under- 
stand ?” 

“Yes, sir,” cried Matthias, joyfully, and 
seized the tool in haste. 

“Strike that pine there.” 

Stainer pointed to the tree, many of which 
stood thick about him. Matthias hastened to 
strike, first one and then another, with short, 
sharp strokes, listening after each. 

“Well?” cried Stainer, watching with an ex- 
pectant countenance. 

“I think,” said Matthias, “I hear something 
that sounds as if one struck the back of an old 
violin with a finger.” 

Stainer's eyes brightened with satisfaction. 

“My boy,” he cried, and drew Matthias to- 
ward him, “thou art in the right ; the good God 
has intended thee for a violin maker. There 
can be no doubt of it! And I will mahe of 
thee such a master of thy craft that the world 
cannot produce thy equal.” 

“Oh, dear sir, how good you are to me !” 
cried Matthias, overcome. I thank you a 
thousand times, and I will do what I have 


Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 13 

promised— I will be a good scholar— that I 
will !” 

“Good ! And I will talk with thy father to- 
day,” Stainer promised the excited boy. “More- 
over, thou canst enter upon thy apprenticeship 
with me at once, if thou wilt accompany me a 
little way. Thy goats will certainly not run 
away from this place, and we are not going 
far.” 

Very willingly the boy accompanied his 
teacher. With the greatest attention he watched 
every movement of his hand, scarcely daring to 
turn his eyes away from the master, who ex- 
plained to him why it is necessary to listen 
for the sound from the tree-trunk, and that one 
can only make use of those trees which sing 
loud and strong. 

By means of several trees that were lying on 
the ground Stainer showed his little scholar the 
“sounding-board,” with the marks of the “years’ 
rings” and the knots and curves upon it as they 
must be known to the skillful violin maker. 

Finally, after they had both sounded a number 
of trees and listened for the “clang” — during 


14 Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 

which time the little Matthias had repeatedly 
gladdened the heart of Stainer with proofs of 
his quickness of apprehension — they turned 
again to the goats, who, left to themselves, with- 
out their keeper, had been bounding and spring- 
ing among the rocks. Stainer accompanied the 
boy and his little herd to the town, and, as it 
was already dark when he reached it, he prom- 
ised to call the next day at the house of the 
tailor, Klotz, to discuss the future of Matthias. 

The boy hastened with eager joy to his par- 
ents to tell them what had happened to him 
that day in the forest. The father listened 
with the utmost astonishment to what his son 
said, and the mother heard, with a glad heart, 
the words that flowed from her boy’s lips; 
he spoke so enthusiastically of the master from 
Absam he seemed to recall a messenger from 
heaven. 

“Child,” said his father, at last, “if all this 
is true, then is the inmost wish of my heart 
about to be fulfilled so speedily that I know not 
how to thank our dear God and all the saints 
for it.” 


Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 15 

“Oh, father/’ cried the boy, and his eyes 
shone, “it is certainly all true — all that I have 
told you ! You will see. Master Stainer comes 
to-morrow to talk with you.” 

That night there was no one happier than the 
little son of the tailor of Mittenwald. Even in 
his dreams the image of the violin maker fol- 
lowed him, and he saw himself in those dreams 
already in Absam, in the workshop of Stainer. 
Very early the next morning he slipped out of 
bed, but there still reihained several hours before 
he could welcome the eagerly awaited master. 

At last Stainer entered the poor tailor shop. 
He soon explained to the parents what were 
his intentions, and they came to a full under- 
standing. Stainer promised to take Matthias 
with him in a few days, and to do his best to 
make a skillful master workman of him. 

The tailor Klotz thanked the violin maker 
with warmest gratitude, as also did his wife. 

“Yes, I will make a skillful master workman 
of your lad,” repeated Stainer, softly stroking 
the brown locks of the boy, who stood before 
him. “You shall see that I speak truth.” 


16 Matthias Hears the Ring of the Trees 

“May God bless you l" said the father of Mat- 
thias, and wiped the tears from his dim eyes. 
Drops furrowed the cheeks of the mother, but 
they came from the joy which both experienced 
in this great good fortune. 


CHAPTER II. 


HE LOVES AND LOSES HIS FIRST MASTER. 

The day of parting came. Matthias, with 
a little bundle in his hand, took a tearful leave 
of his father and mother, and his brothers and 
sisters. The parents blessed their child and 
charged him always to be good and honest. 

“Matthias,” the father impressed upon his 
heart, “never forget thy morning and night 
prayers. He who forgets the good God will be 
forgotten, and then everything goes wrong.” 

Matthias promised his father that he would 
never forget. And now appealed Master 
Stainer to take the boy away. One more kiss 
of the mother on the forehead of her child, and 
Matthias was gone from the house of his father. 

It was yet early morning when they turned 

their faces toward the nearest frontier. The 

17 


18 He Loves and Loses His First Master 

sun shone gloriously in the blue heavens and 
the mountains were wrapped in golden light; 
the pine forest swam in blue mist, from whose 
depths poured the song of the little birds. The 
road went past the old fortress of Scharnitz to 
Kufstein and Hall. On the second day Stainer 
and his little companion reached Absam. How 
Matthias stared when he entered the workroom 
of the master and saw all the tools that are 
needed to make a violin, as w r ell as all the com- 
pleted instruments and those in process of mak- 
ing, which hung on the walls ! 

“See !” said Stainer, “if thou art very indus- 
trious thou wilt soon be able to make such vio- 
lins as these.” 

Matthias sighed. 

“Ah,” said he, “that will not come soon. I 
must learn many, many things before I get so 
far as that.” 

This answer pleased the master. It proved 
to him that Matthias was not only sensible, but 
modest also. 

The next day the new scholar began his les- 
sons in earnest. The master taught him to use 


He Loves and Loses His First Master 19 

the plane and the saw, showed him all the in- 
struments, and named their various parts, and 
it was not long until Matthias was able to stand 
before a board and plane it without assistance, 
while the shavings curled from under the steel 
and flew gaily about the room. 

Matthias fulfilled the glowing expectations 
of the master. He showed himself so skillful at 
all kinds of work, and manifested by his great 
docility so much modesty, that he not only be- 
came the favorite of the master, but so pleased 
the other workmen that they did not envy him 
his position. 

Week after week went by. Matthias had al- 
ready made rapid strides in his noble art, and 
the time was not far off when he should fur- 
nish the first proof of his progress by putting 
a violin together. It was, of course, not a mas- 
terpiece, but it showed that he had learned 
something and had spent his time well and 
wisely. 

Matthias intended to give this violin to his 
master as a sign of his affection and gratitude. 
Only a few more days, and the work would be 


20 He Loves and Loses His First Master 

completed; it needed only to be dried and 
strung. The violin hung in the master’s little 
garden near several others that were drying. 

The master went out in the garden to look 
at them. But, strangely enough, he did not 
see them; he looked only at the ground, and 
it seemed as if he were counting the grains of 
sand in the garden path. Suddenly he raised 
his head and looked into the air with a peculiar 
and gloomy expression. Dangling before his 
eyes, in all their newness and freshness, he saw 
the violins. A wild look flashed across his face, 
his eyes rolled, and he threw himself upon them 
with a shrill cry : 

“Help ! help ! They will die ! Oh, the poor, 
poor fellows V 9 

And in a moment he had gathered the violins 
together and flung them to the ground, many 
of them falling upon the stones and breaking 
into pieces ; among these was the work of little 
Matthias. 

The shriek of the master had brought the 
workmen together, for they believed that some 
misfortune had befallen him. And it was, in- 


He Loves and Loses His First Master 21 

deed, a misfortune, a terrible one, as they soon 
discovered. 

When Stainer saw them he rushed toward 
them with every sign of rage, calling out: 

“You rascals! it was you who hanged these 
poor men ! But God has sent me to reckon with 
you." 

“God help us!" cried the oldest workman, 
with horror. “The good master is mad !" 

It was even so. Jacob Stainer, the most fa- 
mous violin maker of his day, had suddenly 
become insane. 

It was only after great trouble the workmen 
were able to overpower their raving master and 
render him so far harmless that he could neither 
injure himself nor others. 

Matthias wept bitterly when the sorrowful 
loss of his dear master became clear to him. 
It was as if all his hopes and his future had 
been swept into the grave at one blow. 

Master Stainer was pronounced incurable by 
the physicians. Science at that time had not 
developed the skill in treating mental diseases 
with which we are now blessed. Jacob Stainer 


22 He Loves and Loses His First Master 

was hopelessly lost to the world, to his friends, 
and to his art. 

It was a hard trial to poor Matthias Klotz. 
He saw, of course, that it would be impossible 
for him to remain in the house of Stainer, and 
he therefore wrote to his father of the terrible 
affliction that had overtaken his dear master. 
In a few days Urban Klotz came to take his son 
home. It was a painful parting for Matthias — 
more painful, even, than the departure from his 
father’s house had been. He never saw his mas- 
ter again in this life. 

Sorrowful and troubled, the boy arrived home 
with his father. His mother greeted him with 
tears of joy, for she had endured many an hour 
of longing for her dear child. 

“My dear son, what wilt thou do now?” began 
his father, as soon as the boy was somewhat 
rested. He had, of course, discussed this mat- 
ter with Matthias on their way home, but now 
he wished the important subject talked over 
in the presence of the mother. “There is noth- 
ing else for thee but to take up needle and 
thread and learn of me to be a tailor.” 


He Loves and Loses His First Master 23 

“No, no, father!” he sobbed. “I cannot be 
a tailor. I told yon that on the way home. I 
am going to Italy.” 

“To Italy?” cried his mother, turning pale. 
“So far, my child? Thou must not! How 
couldst thou go alone over so many rough moun- 
tains, and where the roads are so unsafe?” 

“Have no fear for me, dear mother,” con* 
tinued Matthias. “The good God will protect 
me, as he did Tobias and many another trav- 
eler. I will go to Cremona, to the famous vio- 
lin maker, Nicolo Amati.” 

“To Cremona !” exclaimed his mother. “That 
is far, Matthias.” 

“Achleitner will take me with him, and I 
shall be safe enough,” explained the boy, with 
almost a man’s determination. 

The father and mother looked at each other 
in surprise; the melancholy forebodings of the 
latter disappeared, as though the words of her 
son gave her a sense of security. 

“That is a good idea,” said the father, after 
a moment’s thought, “and it is worth looking 
into. I believe that the good God sent it to 


24 He Loves and Loses His First Master 

thee to point out the way for us. Yes, Ach- 
leitner can take thee to Italy, for he has many 
friends and acquaintances there. But, first, I 
shall talk to him and hear what he has to say.” 
And the good tailor was soon on the road. 


CHAPTER III. 


MATTHIAS GOES TO CREMONA, WHERE HE 
FINDS FRIENDS AND ENEMIES. 

Close to the gurgling brook which flows 
through the town of Mittenwald stood a fine, 
painted house. It was that of Hans Achleit- 
ner, the carrier, one of the richest townsmen 
of the place. 

Mittenwald played at that time an impor- 
tant role in commerce, for it lay on the great 
highway from Germany to Italy. All merchan- 
dise that came from the east and south to Tyrol 
and the north was deposited at Mittenwald 
and forwarded as freight by the carriers of that 
place. What went to Tyrol and Italy the Mit- 
tenwalders carried on the Rottstrasse to the 
south. The Rott was a company of carriers to 
whom belonged the right of carrying freight. 
Many and costly were these goods. 

25 


26 


Matthias Goes to Cremona 


To this company of the Rott carriers Hans 
Achleitner belonged. Ten times each year he 
went with his six-horse team to Italy, and, like 
all his associates, had amassed a considerable 
fortune from his business. 

It was to him that Urban Klotz now went. 

“Neighbor,” said he to the gigantic man, 
“when goest thou again into Italy ?” 

“We are even now loaded up,” answered Ach- 
leitner, “and, at the most, in three or four days 
I shall be on the way.” 

Then Klotz hastened to tell him what was on 
his mind, and to ask if Achleitner would take 
his boy to Cremona with him. 

“I do not go to Cremona,” answered the car- 
rier, “but I know many persons who will take 
care of thy Matthias. Whenever thou wilt I 
will take the boy with me.” 

“That will suit me,” answered Klotz, re- 
joiced, and hastened home with this news. 

Who was happier than Matthias ! He could 
hardly wait till the three days were passed; 
they went so slowly to him, but to his parents 
all too fast. A journey to far-off Cremona was 


Matthias Goes to Cremona 27 

something very different from going to the 
Tyrol out of Mittenwald. But Matthias was 
not wandering around the world shiftlessly, and 
his parents, who saw in the strong desires of 
their child a voice from heaven directing them, 
offered no objection to the boy’s plans. 

After three days there came another parting. 
The morning had scarcely dawned, and the first 
sunbeams had not touched the highest moun- 
tain peaks, when the carrier Achleitner cracked 
his whip before the house of the tailor Klotz, 
Matthias appeared, this time with rather more 
baggage than on the first occasion. He em- 
braced his father and mother, kissed them, and 
climbed into the piled-up wagon, with its many 
boxes, chests, and bales, all filled with valuable 
goods. 

The boy made this journey without accident. 
The good Achleitner cared for him through the 
whole journey, and when they came to Padua 
placed the little violin maker with a business 
friend from Cremona, who promised to take the 
boy safely to the Maestro Amati. 

Nicolo Amati was at that time the first violin 


28 Matthias Goes to Cremona 

maker of the world. He received the little 
German with much kindness, and when he 
learned that Matthias had already studied with 
the famous Stainer his interest in the boy in- 
creased. Cremona was a beautiful city, with 
many magnificent churches and marble palaces, 
and over all a wonderful, cloudless sky. But — 
there was something wanting — and the little 
Matthias missed it greatly. 

Several days had passed after his arrival, and 
he sat one day in the garden which belonged 
to the Maestro Amati. His gaze was turned 
to the north ; he saw the dark pines on the hills 
of the horizon, and now the magic spell of the 
forest around his home was upon him; he saw 
the face of his father, of his beloved mother, 
and tears ran down his cheeks. Homesickness 
had come upon him. It seemed to him as 
though a voice in his breast cried out: "Mat- 
thias, why didst thou leave thy parents ? Dost 
thou know if thou shalt ever see them again? 
Think how well it was with thee in thy father’s 
house.” 

Matthias arose. Like a secret spell, the voice 


Matthias Goes to Cremona 29 

worked upon him, and it seemed to him that 
it was driving him from the garden. One 
thought was in his mind — to go back to his 
father’s house ! 

As Matthias reached the garden door Maestro 
Amati stood before him. 

“Why dost thou weep?” he asked in broken 
German, for the famous maestro had but little 
command of the Northern tongue. 

“I am so homesick !” answered Matthias, and 
new tears filled his eyes. “I am going home.” 

Amati, a good-hearted, friendly man, looked 
with sympathy into the boy’s face. He laid 
his hand on the curly head and comforted him. 

“Never mind, my child !” he said, in mild 
tones. “In a few days this homesickness will 
pass. I will take thy father’s place as well as 
I can. Come with me.” 

He took him warmly by the hand and led him 
to his wife. She also comforted the boy and 
stroked his hair. 

This friendly treatment soothed the childish 
sorrow, and it was not long until Matthias was 
accustomed to his new home. 


30 Matthias Goes to Cremona 

Through his industry, as well as through his 
talents, the little German gave his master much 
pleasure. Matthias learned so easily that Amati 
often looked with silent astonishment at him 
when he finished, in the workshop, the neck, the 
sounding-board, the edges, the touch-board, or 
some other part of the violin, or carved with 
skilled hand those light, elegant heads for 
which the instruments of Amati are particu- 
larly remarkable. 

It was soon seen that Matthias rose in favor 
with the Italian maestro, who reckoned him 
his best scholar. 

Beside Klotz worked two other young fellows, 
who were several years older than he. The one 
was Pietro Andrea Guarneri and the other An- 
tonio Straduari. Both were afterward famous 
violin makers, and forced even their teacher, 
Amati, to compete with them for his fame. Be- 
sides these, there were several other young Ital- 
ians in the workshop of Amati, of whom we 
will mention here only a certain Francesco Mu- 
raldi. He was a skillful worker, but of sullen 
disposition. Already he had seen, with jealous 


Matthias Goes to Cremona 31 

eyes, that the maestro favored the little Ger- 
man. It filled him with anger and envy. 

One day he said privately to Guameri and 
Stradnari : 

“Is it not too bad that the maestro favors 
this fellow so much ? Are we not as good work- 
men and as industrious as he?” 

“I do not like him,” said Straduari, sharply. 
“Many a time I am tempted to attack him, but 
the fellow is not weak and he has a pair of 
strong fists.” 

“H’m!” said Francesco, “I am not afraid 
of them. I would give it to him all alone.” 

“Thou!” exclaimed Antonio. “Thou must 
do it before I will believe thee.” 

“Well, thou shalt soon see it,” promised 
Guarneri, with a scornful smile. “I will in- 
troduce the German to the Cremona pavement.” 

After this ugly expression he applied himself 
to his work. 

The hours went on, and it was time for all to 
lay aside their tools. Maestro Amati had left 
the room, and directed the young men to clean it 
and remove the shavings and other rubbish. 


32 Matthias Goes to Cremona 

Matthias began at once his task. The other 
three hurried themselves a little, in obedience 
to the maestro, although Francesco showed a 
sullen countenance. 

After a while Klotz uttered a cry. Fran- 
cesco had slyly struck him in the back with a 
long broomstick, as if accidentally. 

“Thou shouldst take care, Francesco,” said 
Matthias. “Thou hast given me such a push 
that I have had enough of it.” 

Francesco tittered provokingly. 

“So thou hast enough?” he said, mockingly. 
“If thou wouldst like, I can give thee some 
more such Italian pushes. I have a store of 
them.” 

Guarneri laughed, but Straduari worked on 
and said nothing. 

“It is shameful in thee to talk like that, 
Francesco,” said Klotz, reprovingly. “I have 
done nothing to thee, and yet thou art always 
treating me in this way. May I ask why ?” 

“Why?” hissed Francesco. “Because thou 
art a German, and I can not bear a German. 
What dost thou in Cremona ? Go home to thy 


Matthias Goes to Cremona 


33 


father and help him patch the ragged coats and 
trousers of your Mittenwald boors. That would 
be better for thee and more suitable for a Ger- 
man than violin making. This art is not for 
you people, but for us Italians.” 

“Now, only show us poor Germans some 
mercy and leave us a little share in the art,” 
said Klotz, in good-natured jest. “My master 
in Absam understood it well, and thou knowest 
thyself that Signor Amati holds Jacob Stainer 
in high, esteem.” 

“H’m!” said Francesco, provokingly; “with 
such a name as that !” 

“What !” cried Matthias, and his face flushed 
scarlet. “Thou art truly detestable to insult 
an unfortunate man. Remember that Jacob 
Stainer is such an artist as thou and I shall 
never become.” 

“Certainly thou wilt not,” answered Fran- 
cesco, “for a fool can never become a brilliant 
scholar.” 

He laughed impudently in the German’s 
face. 

That was too much even for Klotz. He could 


34 


Matthias Goes to Cremona 


not control his righteous anger, and raised his 
fist, not to strike him, but to threaten. 

“Take care !” he said, warningly. “Don’t say 
that again.” 

“What ! Dost thou threaten us ?” cried Fran- 
cesco, and, as if on a given sign, he and Guar- 
neri attacked Matthias. Straduari wished to 
turn away, but he would not, however, forsake 
his fellows. 

But the two assailants had not expected to 
find in Klotz, who was smaller than they, such 
a fearless youth. He struck out with his fists 
and gave first Francesco and then his com- 
rade such a blow in the face that each fell back 
with a cry. 

At this instant the door opened and Maestro 
Amati entered. With the greatest astonishment 
he looked at the excited countenances and strug- 
gling forms of the boys. 

His first question prevailed with Matthias : 

“What sort of conduct is this ?” he asked, in 
a loud voice. 

Matthias related, without concealment, what 
had happened, and did not excuse his fault; 


Matthias Goes to Cremona 


35 


but, he went on to say, the memory of his un- 
fortunate German master should never be in- 
sulted so long as he could raise his hand. This 
answer pleased the benevolent Amati. Instead 
of blaming Klotz, as the other two hoped he 
might, the master praised him highly for his 
fidelity to his first teacher. Matthias’ oppo- 
nents did not come off so well. 

“Are you not ashamed of yourselves to attack 
this boy? You deserve my anger. I give you 
warning not to annoy this German. Do it once 
more and you leave my house. That you then 
never cross its threshold again I promise you 
both. And, also, let me say that I will not per- 
mit any of this rude strife in my place. You 
will now, immediately, ask pardon of Matthias.’’ 

“Master,” said Klotz, “they do not need to 
ask my pardon, but they must apologize for 
insulting my brave master Stainer.” 

Francesco and Andrea came sneakingly for- 
ward and murmured some words which Klotz 
did not rightly understand, but which he took 
for granted were the ones they should have used. 

As to that there was a doubt. 


36 Matthias Goes to Cremona 

As soon as they were from under the eyes of 
Amati and alone Francesco said, laughing, to 
Guarneri : 

“Dost thou know what I said to that German 
dog when we asked his pardon? I muttered: 
‘Fellow, I will have a bloody reckoning for 
this/ Did I not handle it cleverly ?” 

Guarneri laughed out. 

“Thou hast done better than I,” said he. 
“But if I did murmur a few words of apology, 
they were not true, and I have just thought 
whilst thou wast speaking that I will make it 
cost him something, too.” 

After that they promised each other never 
to rest until Klotz was driven out of Cremona. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE STATUE OF ST. CECILIA. 

After this occurrence Matthias seemed to 
rise higher than ever in the esteem of his mas- 
ter, to the great disgust of the others who 
studied in the workshop. Under Amati, Klotz 
became a most expert violin maker. His work 
was far better than that of the others, with the 
possible exception of Guarneri and Straduari, 
who certainly became very skillful, but could 
never set aside the fact that a German had 
taken precedence of them. 

Time went on ; month succeeded month, year 
followed year, and at last Klotz celebrated his 
eighteenth birthday. He had, of course, de- 
veloped from apprentice to finished workman, 
and, as such, had long since produced his “mas- 
terpiece” ; but as yet he had no thought of leav- 
ing Amati and the beautiful city on the Po. 

37 


38 The Statue of St. Cecilia 

The length of time which had elapsed seemed 
to have softened the animosity of his compan- 
ions, who, in spite of their promises to each 
other not to rest until they had driven Klotz 
away, had abandoned their show of enmity. 
They even tried to cultivate more friendly rela- 
tions with him, hut he was of an honest and up- 
right nature, and he mistrusted their advances. 

Matthias was not content with being an artist 
among violin makers ; he made use of an oppor- 
tunity that came to him to become a sculptor 
as well. There was an old Carmelite monk of 
Cremona, who was an enthusiastic musician, 
played the violin exquisitely, and the bass viol 
with much skill. He also was a warm friend 
of the young German, to whom he not only 
gave lessons on the violin, but also in sculpture, 
for in this Father Peter excelled. Many were 
the fine statues of the holy saints in the Car- 
melite church which bore witness to the artist’s 
touch of the old monk. Matthias was worthy 
of his instruction. Father Peter was heard to 
remark one day that his scholar had already 
caught up to him. 


39 


The Statue of St. Cecilia 

Klotz intended to present his master with a 
work from his chisel, and for many weeks 
worked in his leisure hours on a statue of St. 
Cecilia. No one had seen it, with the exception 
of Father Peter, who looked at it from time to 
time, to point out faults and suggest improve^ 
ments, with the deepest interest in the com- 
pletion of the figure. Finally it was ready, and 
with throbbing heart the artist thought of the 
look with which his honored teacher would wel- 
come the gift. 

It happened one day that Klotz had a visit 
from a friend named Carlo Detro. As the statue 
of St. Cecilia caught his eye a cry of astonish- 
ment escaped him ; for he, too, was a sculptor, 
and could fully appreciate the artistic value of 
this creation. 

“ Where didst thou get this masterpiece ?” 
Detro asked his German friend. 

Klotz smiled quietly, then answered the ques- 
tion, without hesitating : 

“I made it.” 

“Thou?” cried the other, and his astonish- 
ment increased tenfold. “Thou canst not make 


40 The Statue of St. Cecilia 

me believe that ! Thou art a violin maker, but 
not a sculptor. No, thou art jesting, and I do 
not believe thee.” 

“Then ask Father Peter, of the Carmelites, 
who is my teacher in sculpture.” 

But Detro shook his head skeptically; al- 
though he knew Klotz to be an honest, truthful 
fellow, it seemed too much to believe. 

“Thou must show that to Guarneri and the 
others,” he said, finally, when he had several 
times walked round the statue and carefully 
examined it to find any fault, seeking in vain. 
The statue was faultless. 

“I will not show it to Guarneri nor any one 
else before Signor Amati sees it,” answered the 
artist. “Besides, they would take no interest 
in it.” 

Detro denied this, and urged Matthias anew 
to show the statue to his friends. An hour 
later, after he had departed, some one knocked 
on the door of the Klotz dwelling, and Guar- 
neri, Straduari, and Muraldi walked in. 

“Thou art a pretty friend !” began Guarneri 
at once, in a reproachful tone. “Thou hast 


The Statue of St. Cecilia 41 

finished this beautiful statue and wilt not 
allow us one glance at it. Truly, that is not 
fair !” 

Matthias made the excuse that he thought 
his companions would care very little for his 
work, as this was the first production of his un- 
aided chisel. 

At these words he drew aside a curtain, and 
there stood the statue. 

A long-drawn “Ah!” came from the lips of 
Straduari. The others were at first speechless, 
and then, little by little, their astonishment 
broke forth. But their words lacked warmth; 
they were polite expressions and the utterances 
of an envious spirit. 

“And thou wilt send that to Signor Amati !” 
said Francesco. “Thou art a veritable fool. 
Such a statue as that! No, I would rather 
make money out of it; some rich patron will 
gladly buy it of thee and pay well.” 

“No,” answered Matthias, “I have never 
thought of that. The statue is not worth nearly 
so much as you think. I shall be only too glad 
if the master will take it.” 


42 The Statue of St. Cecilia 

“I would not be, in thy place,” remarked 
Guarneri. “I would sell it ; it would bring thee 
a lot of gold.” 

But Klotz would not hear to anything like 
this, and the others left him. 

“Here!” Francesco began, speaking to the 
others as soon as they were on the street, “Klotz 
will do us some harm. The master already 
thinks more of him than he does of us, and 
when he gives him his statue there will be 
nothing at all left for us. It made me more 
furious than ever that Amati gave this Ger- 
man, Klotz, the making of a violin for the 
choirmaster of the Pope.” 

“Yes, that was a mean piece of business,” 
said Straduari, who felt himself no less 
wounded in his pride as an artist by this act 
of the master. “You know I was never before 
on your side when you were against the Ger- 
man, but now I can go as far as you. Oh, I 
hate him more than you do, perhaps !” 

“Hatred alone will not suffice,” eagerly began 
Francesco. “We must try to get such a rival 
forever out of the way. I am prepared to use 


The Statue of St. Cecilia 43 

even violence. Thou also, Andrea? And thou, 
Antonio ?” 

Both declared themselves ready to take part 
in extreme measures against Klotz. 

Klotz devoted his evenings to long walks 
beyond the city limits, and he was particularly 
fond of visiting a chapel of Our Lady, distant 
about a quarter of an hour’s walk, on a hill 
which overhung the Po, and was thickly planted 
with trees and shrubs. 

On this day the young fellow visited his fa- 
vorite spot. Nowhere else could he pray with 
such recollection, nowhere else did he feel him- 
self so unrestrained in his communings with 
heaven and the Queen of heaven, whom he hon- 
ored with true German fervor. 

He spent a long time in prayer. He prayed 
for his dear parents in his far-off home ; for his 
beloved teacher in Absam, still wrapped in the 
terrible gloom of insanity; he remembered his 
master Amati, and besought the blessing of 
heaven upon him. As he arose from his knees 
and left the chapel, twilight had already over- 
spread the landscape. The red moon hung 


44 The Statue of St. Cecilia 

in the deep blue heavens like a ball of molten 
gold, and along the distant horizon lay the 
vague mistiness of the northern Alps, while the 
waves of the Po rippled merrily past, and a 
nightingale sang in the bushes. 

Matthias listened for a time with a softened 
melancholy to the noise of the stream, the song 
of the bird, and the sighing of the wind among 
the branches. Slowly he turned his steps again 
to the city. 

He had gone perhaps half the distance, and 
was passing through a small pine woods, when 
three men in disguise sprang from behind the 
trees and attacked him with naked swords. But 
Matthias had a brave heart, and the knowledge 
that he was under the protection of God and 
the Queen of heaven doubled his natural cour- 
age. He grasped the hilt of his sword, which he 
wore in accordance with the custom of the time, 
and, as he understood the art of fencing, turned 
aside the deadly blows with skill and strength. 
He soon found that he had to do with cowards 
at heart. With rapid sword-play he wounded 
two of them, so that they were forced to with- 


The Statue of St. Cecilia 45 

draw from the struggle, and after some mighty 
blows from his strong German arm the other 
turned and fled. On the river’s edge the cow- 
ardly bandit turned and fired a pistol at Mat- 
thias. The ball whistled past his ear and 
pierced his hat. This and a slight scratch on 
his hand were the only injuries that Klotz re- 
ceived. Without further adventure he reached 
the city and his dwelling-place, his heart over- 
flowing with thankfulness to God, who had so 
graciously protected him. 

Matthias was far from suspecting his com- 
panions and fellow-workmen as his assailants. 
This circumstance nearly caused his ruin, for, 
lulled to false security, he bestowed his confi- 
dence on those who were all unworthy of it, and 
his bitterest enemies. 


CHAPTER V. 


MASTER AMATI PUNISHES MATTHIAS* ASSAIL- 
ANTS. 

The next day Matthias presented his beloved 
master with the statue of St. Cecilia. Amati 
was so enraptured with it, so carried away by 
the work of his favorite pupil, that he burst 
into tears and folded him to his breast. 

“My dear Matthias,” he said, “if thou wert 
not already an artist in violin making, needing 
so little to complete thy studies, I should almost 
entreat thee to become a sculptor. Thy skill in 
both callings is equally brilliant and striking.” 

Who could be happier than Matthias at this ? 
His countenance beamed with delight, and he 
could reply only with a look. It came to him 

later to express his joy in words. 

46 


Amati Punishes Matthias * Assailants 47 

Matthias was too modest to make a hero of 
himself, and, notwithstanding his cordial rela- 
tions with his master, he was silent as to the 
night attack, his danger and escape. Amati, 
wishing to show his beautiful gift to the others 
in the workroom, carried it from the dwelling 
thither, and thus discovered that Guarneri and 
Muraldi were absent. He inquired for them. 
No one could answer his questions. It was a 
strict rule of Amati’s that every one of his 
household absent through sickness or any other 
cause must send an excuse. To-day he sup- 
pressed all marks of disapproval while showing 
the others the statue Matthias had given him. 
All admired it; Straduari more than any. His 
words of praise overflowed all bounds and lost 
themselves in extravagant phrases. This aroused 
a suspicion in Matthias. He looked searchingly 
at Antonio; he seemed paler and more excited 
than usual. But Matthias said nothing. 

Amati turned to Klotz. 

"Matthias,” he said, "thou knowest where 
Andrea and Francesco live. Look in at their 
lodgings and see why they are not here to-day. 


48 Amati Punishes Matthias * Assailants 

There is so much work to be done now, I can not 
spare a hand/’ 

Straduari trembled at these words. They 
were both kept at home by the wounds they had 
received the night before, and if Matthias went 
to them all would be discovered, and woe to 
himself! He turned to the master and said, 
nervously : 

“Pardon, master, I forgot to tell you — they 
are both — not well to-day, and could not come.” 

Amati looked into the pale face of the young 
fellow. 

"You certainly were out too late last night. 
Your face shows it. Are you not ashamed, An- 
tonio, to thus waste your youth in drinking 
and carousing ? This must never happen again. 
I tell you so for the last time.” 

The storm had passed over and the lightning 
had not struck. Straduari breathed freely. 
He went on with his work. Matthias also sat 
down at his place. Amati carried the statue 
back into the dwelling-room. Hardly had he 
entered it when Father Peter, the Carmelite, ap- 
peared. His countenance was very grave. 


Amati Punishes Matthias * Assailants 49 

“Have you already heard it, master?” he 
asked Amati. 

“What?” questioned the latter, astonished. 

“Oh, these scoundrels 1” cried the good monk, 
with sudden indignation. “They tried to mur- 
der your good Matthias last evening, the miser- 
able bandits !” 

Amati fell back, shocked. 

“Murder Matthias?” cried he. “And he has 
told me nothing of it yet? Are you not mis- 
taken, Father?” 

“On the contrar}', I know it only too cer- 
tainly,” declared the monk. “They were your 
own fellows, Muraldi, Guarneri, and Straduari. 
Muraldi was the instigator. Two of them were 
wounded by Matthias ; Guarneri so badly in the 
breast that he was forced to call in a physician. 
They came for Father Hermenegild, of our con- 
vent, who is his friend, for his wound is appar- 
ently serious.” 

Amati looked for a moment straight before 
him. The whole thing struck him as a wild 
nightmare. Suddenly he said : 

“Shame on the worthless fellows who lent 


50 Amati Punishes Matthias * Assailants 

themselves to such an outrage ! They shall not 
escape punishment. Wait for me, Father; I 
shall be back in a moment.” 

He hastened into the workroom. There he 
commanded Straduari and Matthias to follow 
him, and, returning to the dwelling-room, 
turned sternly on Straduari : 

“ Since when hast thou joined the company 
of assassins, Antonio?” 

The young fellow trembled in all his limbs 
and turned pale as ashes. He was unable to 
utter a word. 

“Why hast thou concealed from me what hap- 
pened to thee last evening, Matthias?” con- 
tinued the master, in a sharp tone, turning to 
Klotz. 

“Near the chapel of our dear Lady, outside 
the wall, three men in disguise attacked me. 
With God’s help I put them to flight. As I 
had no wish to be looked upon as a boaster, I 
kept silence.” 

“Thou hast acted very unwisely,” said Amati, 
in a tone of reproof. “And didst thou not sus- 
pect who were thy assailants?” 


Amati Punishes Matthias * Assailants 51 

“No. And even now I can scarcely believe 
that one of them is here.” 

He looked at Straduari, who stood near him, 
pale as death. 

“Wilt thou confess, villain?” said the mas- 
ter, angrily, to him. “Or I will this instant 
drive thee out of my house and have thee ar- 
rested.” 

Antonio sank, whimpering, on his knees. 

“Mercy, mercy !” he tremblingly begged. “I 
will confess all. Signor ; but forgive me, I pray 
you. Matthias, forgive me, or I am lost !” 

And he crawled on his knees to his comrade. 

Klotz looked at him sorrowfully. 

‘‘But what have I ever done to you, that you 
should attack me in such a cowardly way and 
force me to struggle for my life? I have not 
injured one of you; at least, I can not remem- 
ber one word, far less an action, that would de- 
serve such treatment.” 

Antonio confessed that it was envy of the 
prominent position which the German held in 
the master’s house which had prompted the un- 
dertaking. As far as he himself was concerned, 


52 Amati Punishes Matthias Assailants 

he had been driven to it, for the others had 
forced him at the point of the sword to go with 
them. 

The confession of Straduari made a deep im- 
pression on Klotz. 

“In one way,” said he, thoughtfully shaking 
his head, “I can help you, Antonio. I will leave 
Cremona.” 

“What !” cried Amati. “That will never hap- 
pen as long as I live. I will protect thee.” 

Klotz looked sadly at the master. 

“No, dear master,” said he, “I can never live 
here in peace. You could not protect me from 
all enemies. I know it well that I am to many 
of your workmen — and to the best of them — 
cause of offense. Let me go, master ; it is bet- 
ter so — I see it myself.” 

Father Peter, who loved the youth even as a 
father loves a son, tried to turn him from these 
thoughts. Finally Antonio himself entreated: 

“Matthias, forgive me! I shall regret for- 
ever what I have done. But still more shall I 
suffer if thou leavest Cremona. See ! I prom- 
ise in the presence of this Keverend Father and 


Amati Punishes Matthias’ Assailants 53 

of our good master that I will be thy best and 
truest friend — I will go with thee everywhere — 
I will protect thee, so far as lies in my power. 
Let me do all that I can for thee, where I have 
failed so terribly.” 

Matthias remained, after this explanation. 
He was only too glad to forgive Antonio. 

He turned then to the master, with these 
words : 

“Dear master, one prayer you must promise 
to grant me — forgive Guarneri and Francesco. 
They have acted badly; it is their love for you 
which urged them to the hateful, foolish deed. 
You could not blame them for the thought that 
a stranger had taken their place in your 
heart.” 

Amati considered. 

“So far as I am concerned,” he said, finally, 
“let them be forgiven — because thou hast asked 
it, Matthias. But they must be punished — 
either the punishment of the law, which is sure 
to fall heavily, or another. And there, out of 
consideration for the honest parents of these 
evil-doers, I will not confine myself to the letter 


54 Amati Punishes Matthias * Assailants 

of the law — I will punish them myself by for- 
bidding them my workshop.” 

“Master/’ begged Matthias, earnestly. 

“I will not hear another word, Matthias,” 
said Amati, sharply. “I will show no further 
mercy— murderers and assassins I will not suf- 
fer in my house.” 

Antonio turned a pleading look on Matthias; 
he understood, the unhappy fellow. 

“But, at least, Antonio is not included in 
that hard decree,” entreated Klotz. “Surely, 
two victims are enough.” 

“Most assuredly he has not deserved it,” an- 
swered Amati; “but because thou hast peti- 
tioned for him, let him be forgiven, that he may 
keep his promise to thee and stand as thy pro- 
tector.” 

“I promise that gladly !” cried Antonio, with 
tears of repentance. 

“And one thing more,” continued Amati, 
turning to his pupil Straduari: “Thou wilt go 
to Guarneri and Muraldi and tell them every- 
thing which has been spoken here. From this 
day forth they cease to be my scholars.” 


Amati Punishes Matthias * Assailants 55 

Antonio rose slowly from his knees. He with- 
drew without delay and went at once to his 
two friends. The effect of his message was very 
different upon each. Guameri burst into a pas- 
sion of tears. 

“Antonio, beg Matthias to come to me, that 
I may ask his forgiveness. Perhaps, then, the 
master may be merciful to me. Oh, if I had 
never done that evil deed !” 

He thus complained, amid a storm of tears, 
paying no attention to the danger of his wound, 
the condition of which called for the avoidance 
of all excitement. Antonio consoled him and 
promised to ask Matthias to visit him. 

In quite another spirit was the message re- 
ceived by Muraldi. He burst out angrily against 
Amati and Matthias in a storm of vituperation, 
and threatened, with a curse, to put a hole 
through the hated German on the first oppor- 
tunity. 


CHAPTER VI. 


KLOTZ LEAVES CREMONA. AND SEEKS HIS 
FORTUNE. 

Matthias was easily persuaded to visit the 
sick-bed of Andrea. With uplifted hands, and 
in a voice broken with sobs, the wounded man 
entreated his forgiveness, and Matthias was 
deeply touched. He not only forgave him for 
himself, but promised he would do all he could 
to restore to him the lost favor of their master. 

Amati, out of affection for Matthias, was 
softened, and revoked the hard sentence in the 
case of Guarneri. But Francesco deserved to 
be shut out from all favor and to suffer the full 
rigor of the law. The bold offender must have 
foreseen his impending fate, for he disappeared 
from within the walls of Cremona before the 
city invoked the help of the law to secure his 
dangerous person. 

Several weeks had passed since these events, 
66 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 57 

and Matthias had become accustomed to jest 
over them. Guarneri’s wound was healed and 
Antonio had again found favor in Amati’s 
house. Matthias had resumed his visits on 
lovely evenings to his favorite chapel, without 
the city. Guarneri and Straduari held them- 
selves pledged to accompany him, and from his 
bitterest enemies had become his warmest 
friends. 

But there came an evening when Matthias 
went for his favorite walk unattended by them. 
Guarneri was detained at home by illness, and 
Straduari, occupied with an important piece of 
work, had promised to follow and join him later. 

Fearless, as usual, Matthias turned home- 
ward from the chapel. The evening bells were 
sounding the Angelus from the city in mingled 
harmony, and their peaceful invitation floated 
over the surrounding fields. Matthias was 
within a hundred feet of the city wall, when 
a dark figure sprang from behind a plane tree 
upon the lonely foot passenger, struck him a 
sharp blow in the breast with a dagger and 
fled noiselessly away. 


58 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 


Stunned and streaming with blood, poor 
Klotz was found by a countryman coming 
from the city. He summoned the watch, who 
found him sorely wounded, and recognized him 
as a pupil of Amati, the violin maker. Amati 
hastened, as soon as the tidings reached him, 
to have the wounded man carried to his home. 
He had no difficulty, in his mind, in fixing the 
malicious deed upon Muraldi, and a hint to 
that effect sent the city watch in search of him. 
But they found no trace of the culprit. 

The physician examined the wound and pro- 
nounced it severe enough to be dangerous. The 
3 r outh had escaped death as by a miracle; one 
inch deeper and the blow would have severed 
the thread of life. 

Guarneri and Straduari reproached them- 
selves bitterly and deplored the misfortune of 
their friend. Where they had been to blame 
before, they now sought to atone by s} r mpathy 
and affection. But Matthias was fortunate in 
that the wound went no deeper, and after a few 
weeks he was again in perfect health. 

In the meantime Master Amati had received 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 


59 


a letter in an unknown hand, the contents of 
which declared that a terrible misfortune was 
about to fall upon him and his house if he did 
not send the German workman away. At the 
least, fire would visit his house. 

Amati was a man whom nothing frightened, 
so far as he himself was concerned; he smiled 
disdainfully at the letter of the unknown writer 
and gave it no attention. Several days later 
Matthias, who had already left his bed, came to 
him with a letter which had been secretly con- 
veyed to him. 

“Dear master,” he said, “just read this let- 
ter. There you can see what miserable men 
there are. But have no anxiety. I will remove 
from the incendiary’s way every motive for his 
cowardly revenge.” 

The letter was written in the same hand as 
that Amati had received and conveyed the same 
warning — that he would be poniarded, and his 
house destroyed by fire if the German, Klotz, 
did not leave it within eight days. 

“The rascal — who, I am sure, is no other than 
Muraldi — has written me a similar letter,” con- 


60 Klotz Seeks His Fortune 

fessed Amati, in great indignation. “But I 
would not let it frighten me.” 

“Nor would I, master/* said Klotz, “if I had 
not learned from experience that the malicious 
are not to be frightened away from any crime. 
You know, moreover, that I determined some 
time ago to leave Cremona. In the end, you 
could protect me as little as I could you. Mu- 

raldi will have associates and accomplices ** 

“Consider this step well, Matthias/* inter- 
rupted the master. “Thou knowest how un- 
willingly I would part with thee. Let not an 
impudent villain drive thee from us.** 

“Oh, it is not this miserable creature who 
forces me to this resolution, but fear for your 
safety. I have had some experience of the 
lengths to which evil men may go.** 

Nor could the entreaties of his friends induce 
Matthias to alter his resolution. He gathered 
together all his belongings, took leave of his 
master, of Father Peter, and of his friends. On 
all sides it cost them tears, for it was a parting 
for life. 

It was a lovely spring morning when Klotz 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 61 

left Cremona. Whither should he turn his 
steps ? He was not yet ready to go home, for 
he wished to learn more before he left Italy 
forever. 

After he had journeyed for several days he 
made the discovery one evening that he could 
no longer pay his way and that it would be 
necessary for him to part with some of his pos- 
sessions. Matthias knew that he could not go 
on long in this manner. 

The next day, while walking along the streets 
of Pavia, he suddenly heard the singing of male 
voices from many throats, and, looking around, 
he saw a troop of lancers in the service of the 
Republic of Mailand. A thought flashed upon 
him. If the worst came to the worst, he could 
enlist. 

Just then the troop drew near. 

“Hello !” one of the weather-tanned fellows 
hailed him. “Where now, pilgrim?” 

“To my fortune, if I can find it,” answered 
Matthias, jestingly. “Have I far to go?” 

“Thou art in the right way, lad,” replied the 
jolly lancer. “Thou hast only to join us and 


62 Klotz Seeks His Fortune 

wear trousers like us, then hast thou found for- 
tune ; for, I tell thee, there is no life like ours.” 

The loyal lancer took Matthias by the arm 
and drew him into the ranks. Matthias Klotz 
marched with them. He found it not so bad. 
The soldiers shared what they had with him, 
and he promised, if ever he was one of them, to 
do the like. 

Arrived at the quarters, Klotz sought out 
the recruiting officer, and in less than an hour 
wore the gay uniform of a lancer. But the life 
was not so pleasant as his companions had 
painted it. In the first place, the exercise con- 
vinced him that the calling of a lancer would 
suit him but a short time. The soldiers’ pay 
came irregularly, and many times they were 
weeks without it. Therefore Matthias soon laid 
aside the gay coat and took up the wanderer’s 
staff again. He also took leave of his com- 
rades, who for the most part were Germans, 
and went on his travels. 

After that he visited various cities where 
violin makers lived, and remained in Piacenza 
with the Master Scarlatti, who received him 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 63 

very kindly, for the name of Amati was the best 
credential he could have carried with him. 

But here, also, Klotz was forced to learn that 
jealousy is a plant which grows in most hearts 
and can be rooted out only with great care. 

The workman next him was named Enrico 
Lomo, a not unskillful fellow ; but he thought 
much too highly of his own work, and lived in 
the belief that he was perfect master of his art. 

Klotz, of a peaceful nature, tried to keep on 
good terms with Lomo as much as possible ; he 
never provoked him by contradiction, although 
nine times out of ten he was in the right, and 
accommodated himself to the other’s views 
whenever it was possible to do so without injury 
to his reputation. 

“Now, what dost thou think?” Lomo asked 
the German one day. “Who is really the first 
master in our profession ?” 

“In Germany it was J acob Stainer ” ' 

“Ah, Germany!” cried Enrico, derisively. 
“There men work only after the Italian models. 
There is only one land for violin making, and 
that is Italy.” 


64 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 


“ Without doubt, Amati ranks first/’ answered 
Matthias, “for as he makes a violin he breathes 
a soul into the instrument, and such a soul as 
heaven itself might send. There is only one 
Amati.” 

“And what hast thou to say of Scarlatti?” 
questioned the other, with a sly glance. 

Klotz saw through the intention of the fel- 
low; he knew what was his object; he therefore 
played the part of the wise man and answered, 
cautiously : 

“I think that it might be very hard to give 
a decided answer here, for Scarlatti and Amati 
rank equally, generally speaking. In many re- 
spects I place Scarlatti above the Cremona mas- 
ter; for one thing, in the majesty and fullness 
of tone.” 

“Thou art right,” agreed Lomo, eagerly; “in 
that our master is unsurpassed. But thou must 
not forget that Scarlatti’s fame on this account 
first came to him since I have worked for him. 
Before that he certainly made good violins, or 
what they call good violins; but the crowning 
glory, the full, pure, and noble tone, they had 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 65 

not. For that the master thanks me, or, much 
more, my suggestion.” 

“Indeed !” exclaimed Klotz, in apparent sur- 
prise, although the boundless conceit of his 
companion almost convulsed him with laughter. 
But he knew now how he stood with Enrico and 
wished to be as careful as possible. 

To his amazement, he soon discovered that 
Scarlatti was burdened with the same conceit 
but in a greater degree than his workman. He 
considered himself not only the best violin 
maker in the world, but contended that it was 
not possible for anyone to copy one of his instru- 
ments; at the first stroke of the bow one could 
perceive the vast difference from the original. 

One day there appeared in the workshop of 
Scarlatti a noble gentleman with a violin in 
such a bad condition that in many places there 
were cracks and holes. The gentleman was well 
known as a violinist. His name was Giovanni 
Lupi. 

“Here, Master Scarlatti,” said he; “this vio- 
lin is worth many hundred gulden. I do not 
know who made it, but certainly if you will 


66 Klotz Seeks His Fortune 

repair it so that I can play on it in public you 
may set a high price on your trouble.” 

“I can do that easily,” answered Scarlatti. 
“You may rely on me, sir. You have never 
had a better instrument in your hand than this 
will be when I have repaired it.” 

The gentleman withdrew, satisfied. 

As soon as he had gone Scarlatti began to 
take the violin apart. When he was ready to 
begin the repairs he called Matthias to him. 

“You have the name of having been taught 
by good masters,” said he to him, “and here 
you have a chance to show what you can do. 
Will you trust yourself to do this work ?” 

Klotz answered without the slightest trace of 
over-eagerness or temper : 

“If you trust it to me, master, I will fulfill 
your expectations.” 

Lomo looked on with silent anger, for he saw 
in this a certain slight to himself. When they 
were alone he complained to the master. 

“Be quiet, Enrico,” said the sly Scarlatti. 
“I have given the German this piece of work 
only to see if he is really a pupil of Amati.” 


67 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 

“But if he ruins the instrument ?” 

“No matter; I will set it right. And we 
shall be able to declare triumphantly : ‘See 
how little a pupil of Amati can do !’ ” 

Lomo brightened at this. What lay behind 
Scarlatti’s words? His secret fear of attempt- 
ing to repair the violin as its owner wished. 
That fact lay beyond Lomo. 

Klotz gave his whole attention to the work. 

Finally it was completed. All holes, all 
cracks, were patched and plastered, all blemishes 
removed, and any one who had seen it in its im- 
proved condition would have thought it a per- 
fectly new instrument. 

“Apparently it is not badly done,” said Scar- 
latti, jealously; “but how is it with the tone? 
That will be the test.” 

Klotz took the bow and drew it across the 
strings. 

Just at this moment there appeared, as if 
called, the artist’s self, to whom the instrument 
belonged. It was promised to him for that day 
and he had come to get it. 

He looked at the violin in astonishment. He 


68 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 


did not recognize it. And now he began to play. 
What splendid tone! One might think it was 
an angel’s voice, so sweetly it swelled from the 
instrument. The violinist played and played, 
and could scarcely contain his delight and en- 
thusiasm. 

At last he laid down the how. Drawing near 
the master, he offered him his hand, and said : 

“I thank you, master. I was fortunate when 
I met with you. This violin will make known 
your fame. Ask what you will, I shall pay it 
gladly.” 

Scarlatti named no modest sum, and the vio- 
linist paid it at once, without a murmur. When 
he had gone Scarlatti turned to Klotz with the 
words : 

“Now, you have done this thing well, but I 
expected warmer praise.” This was too much 
even for the peaceful Klotz. He turned to face 
the master and said : 

“That would have been better if you had 
mended the violin. As far as I am concerned, I 
am fully satisfied with the artist’s praise.” 

The last words contained an unmistakable 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 69 

allusion to the mean trick of the master, who 
had not once troubled himself to refer to the 
workman. From this moment Matthias was 
disgusted with Scarlatti's establishment. He 
made no secret of his discontent. On the fol- 
lowing day he said to Scarlatti, with that frank- 
ness which was so prominent a trait of his char- 
acter : 

“Master, to-morrow I will tie up my bundle. 
I expected yesterday that you would have 
spoken a word for me to the violinist, and I 
should have been satisfied with little. Instead, 
you have not only pocketed the high price to 
yourself, but also taken the unearned honor.” 

Scarlatti was embarrassed. He sought for 
some excuse, but there was none; and finally 
the old jealousy mastered him, and he said, 
recklessly : 

“I do not grasp your meaning, German. You 
have learned what you could of me, for I have 
noticed how eager you are in the restoration of 
models and drawings. Another in your place 
would have been thankful for the honor of get- 
ting such work to do. If you are not satisfied 


70 Klotz Seeks His Fortune 

with it, it remains for you to go, without bid- 
ding, wherever you choose.” 

This was certainly plain speaking. 

Klotz packed his bundle. It caused him no 
regret to part with such a man as Scarlatti, 
whose whole knowledge, it appeared, consisted 
in understanding how to deck himself with bor- 
rowed plumes. 

And now, again, Matthias took to the high- 
way. He had little enough ready money, for 
Scarlatti, a frightful miser, had paid but very 
low wages. 

Matthias wandered aimlessly through the 
streets, uncertain, as yet, whither he would go. 
Before deciding he wished to visit one of the 
beautiful churches, to commit himself to the 
protection of Heaven. 

He entered a church opposite the Town Hall 
and knelt in earnest prayer, beseeching God to 
guide and help him. After he had thus prayed 
for some time he was ready to go forward, com- 
forted and encouraged. 

He had scarcely reached the lowest step of 
the entrance when a gentleman passed him, in 


Klotz Seeks His Fortune 71 

whom, to his joy, he recognized the violinist 
whose instrument he had repaired. Matthias 
saluted him modestly, and the gentleman re- 
sponded courteously, carefully observing him at 
the same time, as though trying to recall where 
he had seen him before. He stopped and ad- 
dressed him: 

“Were you not in the workroom of Master 
Scarlatti ?” 

“Yes, Signor.” 

“And are you now going on your year of 
travel ?” 

“Yes, Signor.” 

“Were you not satisfied with Scarlatti ?” 

“Ho, Signor. I want an honest and upright 
master, and Scarlatti is not that. He has 
treated me very unfairly.” 

Signor Lupi now drew from him the story of 
Scarlatti’s conduct. When he had finished, the 
other said, indignantly: 

“And has Scarlatti treated you thus? Hot 
made you the slightest acknowledgment? How, 
it shall be my care to make this meanness 
known in wider circles. Come with me, young 


72 Klotz Seeks His Fortune 

man! Yon shall not leave Piacenza without 
finding one person who knows how to value 
your skill.” 

He took Klotz with him to his house, which 
was not far from the church. He entertained 
him there with the best, and permitted him to 
leave only when he had given him a handsome 
sum of money. Matthias parted from the no- 
bleman, who, as he had just learned, was not 
only a distinguished artist, but a great bene- 
factor and lover of his kind. 

The feeling that he was not without means 
of livelihood lightened his journey. He set 
before him the double question, whether he 
should make a longer stay in Italy, or whether 
following the dictates of his heart, he should 
turn toward his beloved home. 

His course was decided by what men dare to 
call an accident; what to the weakest of men 
on his way through life often appears as the 
mysterious working of a Higher Power; what 
we rightly call “Providence.” 


CHAPTER VII. 


THE BRAVE VIOLIN MAKER SAVES THE LIFE OF 
MARQUIS CRESCI. 

It was an oppressively hot summer day when 
Matthias turned his back on the city of Pia- 
cenza. The sun shone with unbearable heat 
and the stifling air lay along the horizon in a 
dark gray mass of vapor. Not a breath of wind 
stirred the leaden atmosphere, and even the 
shadows of the plane trees on the road moved 
with a dull heaviness. 

Notwithstanding all this, Klotz set forth on 
his way. A glance toward the west assured 
him that a thunder storm was gathering, for 
gray clouds, their lower edges of a dirty yellow, 
were massing along the heights. The growl of 
thunder was heard, but it was far distant, and 
before the storm burst Klotz hoped to reach the 
next village with ease. 

73 


74 Matthias Saves Marquis C resets Life 

He quickened his steps. The peals of thun- 
der came nearer and the lightning flashed 
through the black clouds. The wind sighed 
through the trees. Heavy drops of rain fell on 
the dusty road ; but the promised shelter of the 
village was at hand, and the next instant the 
wanderer was safe in the tavern on the road. 
It was none too early, for the fury of the raging 
elements burst upon the land in flash after 
flash of lightning, peal after peal of thunder, 
until the earth heaved and trembled and the 
water poured like a deluge from the clouds and 
dashed through the village like a mountain tor- 
rent. 

Suddenly a loud report was heard ; the light- 
ning had struck the finest house in the place — 
that of the Marquis Cresci. Unfortunately, the 
rain now slackened, so that the ensuing fire 
met with no check. The flames hurst from the 
roof, black smoke rolled up, and in an instant 
the whole house seemed in a blaze. 

The villagers hastened to help and to save 
what they could, from the burning building. 
Half unconscious, the Marquise was carried 


Matthias Saves Marquis Crescis Life 75 

out, while an old servant led the three little chil- 
dren to safety. Suddenly the lady started up, 
looked around her, and shrieked: 

“Where is my husband ?” 

“The master is still in the house?” cried one 
of the servants. “I saw him in the ‘blue room* 
as I came down the stairs with the children.” 

“Oh, my husband !” cried the young wife, in 
agony. “It can not be possible that any evil will 
happen to him! Let me go to him! Carlo, 
stay with the children.” 

“Ho, gracious lady, thou canst not do that! 
The master will certainly escape.” 

The children stood, weeping, close to their 
mother, who had been sheltered under a neigh- 
boring roof, and from there witnessed the de- 
struction of their beautiful villa. Almost the 
entire population of the place had come to the 
scene. 

While the men directed the work and sur- 
rounded the house, or climbed the tall ladders 
with great water buckets passed from hand to 
hand, the women, and even the children, formed 
lines that reached to the great village pond. But 


76 Matthias Saves Marquis Crescis Life 

all was in vain. The fire had seized upon the 
walls and flames were springing from the win- 
dows. 

A cry went up from the crowd : 

“The stairs are on fire! Gracious master! 
Gracious master!” 

“Oh, my husband ! My husband !” cried the 
Marquise. 

The faithful Carlo did his best to hold her, 
but she struggled to dash into the burning 
building. In their fright and haste the servants 
had forgotten their master. The people of the 
village had caught sight of him at one of the 
windows, but he had instantly disappeared. 
They now observed the figure of a man, who, 
disregarding the burning brands which fell 
from the roof, mounted one of the ladders and, 
fearless of death, sprang like a squirrel through 
the window. The black smoke rolled out into 

i 

the open air, the red blast of the fire shimmered 
through it, and the next instant the room with- 
in was a mass of flames. 

This cool climber was Matthias, who had 
worked eagerly and unwearily since the incep- 


Matthias Saves Marquis Cresci's Life 77 

tion of the fire. No sooner had he heard that 
the master of the house was missing than he 
risked his life like a hero in a forlorn hope. 

The room in which the brave young fellow 
found himself was so filled with smoke he could 
scarcely breathe, and several times he was 
driven back to the window for fresh air. At 
last he struck his foot against a body. He 
stooped quickly and, exerting all his strength, 
bore it to the window, from which he leaned in 
order to summon all his strength. 

Matthias possessed a pair of unusually strong 
arms. He laid the body over his shoulders and 
stepped slowly and carefully down the ladder. 
The strength of God was with him, for he and 
his burden came safely to the ground. He had 
saved the Marquis. 

The villagers burst into joyful cries when 
they saw the brave deed, but they were not 
heard by Matthias, for he had fallen uncon- 
scious to the ground. They came quickly to his 
assistance, as to that of the Marquis, and in a 
short time Matthias was himself again. It was 
more difficult to restore the Marquis. But at 


78 Matthias Saves Marquis Crescis Life 

last his breast heaved and to the great joy of 
his wife and little ones he opened his eyes. 

“Where is the man who rescued my hus- 
band ?” cried the Marquise, looking about her. 

No one could answer her. 

Klotz had slipped away while they were oc- 
cupied with the Marquis and gone back to the 
inn for the rest he needed. Meanwhile they 
had extinguished the fire. 

Klotz was not seen again at the village that 
day. The exertion had wearied him so that he 
fell asleep with his head on a table in the guest- 
room of the inn. He was rudely awakened, and 
looked up startled. The host and several others 
stood around him, addressing him eagerly : 

“Eh, what are you doing sleeping here ? They 
are looking everywhere for you/’ 

“For me?” exclaimed Matthias, slowly. His 
head was stupid and heavy from the effects of 
the smoke. 

“What do they want with me ?” he asked the 
people, wondering. 

“Did you not rescue our gracious Marquis ?” 
said the host, who could not understand the in- 


Matthias Saves Marquis Crescis Life 79 

difference of the stranger. “The Marquis has 
sent his servant to seek you everywhere ” 

The door of the guest-room opened and, to 
the astonishment of all, appeared the Marquise. 
She approached Matthias. 

“Are you my husband’s preserver ?” she 
asked, with tearful eyes and trembling voice. 

Matthias rose and bowed respectfully before 
her. 

“The good God gave me strength to do it, 
noble lady,” said he, modestly. 

The Marquise thanked him with all warmth 
for herself and her children. 

“My husband will thank you for himself, 
brave German,” said she. “He is now out of 
danger. But I thank you now in his name. 
Take this as a reward for such a deed.” 

She held out a heavy purse of gold to him. 
Matthias looked at her a little surprised. 

“Noble lady,” he said, politely but decidedly, 
“in my country it would be a disgrace if I ac- 
cepted money or reward of any kind for such 
a deed. I hold it so. I beg you, gracious lady, 
to make a better use of this money.” 


80 Matthias Saves Marquis Crescis Life 

“The fellow is a fool!” whispered the host 
to his next neighbor. 

“My soul ! That he is !” answered the other. 
“I wish I were in his place.” 

The Marquise herself seemed surprised at 
this behavior of the German. But she was not 
offended; she could not but feel a high regard 
for the noble being who, without hesitation and 
with no hope of reward, exposed his own life 
for that of another. 

“From whence come you, my brave man?” 
she asked him. 

“I belong to Mittenwald and my name is 
Matthias Klotz. I am a violin maker.” 

“Mittenwald?” said the Marquise, for the 
name was not unknown to her, being well 
known in upper Italy for its business connec- 
tions. 

“Come with me !” she bade him in a friendly 
manner. Matthias obeyed. Walking at the left 
of the Marquise, he answered all her questions 
with quiet modesty. In a few words he unrolled 
before her all his past life. 

After a short walk the Marquise led Klotz 


Matthias Saves Marquis Crescis Life 81 

into a house in which she and her children, 
with her husband, had found shelter. She 
brought him first to the children, that they 
might thank him as the rescuer of their father. 
Then Carlo, the old, gray-haired servant, weep- 
ing for joy, thanked the stranger whose heroism 
had saved his dear “patron.” The Marquis 
he did not see, for the Marquise told him that 
he was compelled to give himself complete rest. 
Matthias understood this perfectly. 

He would have liked now to depart, but the 
Marquise would not let him ofi so easily. 

“Thou shalt never go away,” said she, in gen- 
tle earnestness, “until you have been assured 
that we shall reward you. Ask what you will — 
we are very rich.” 

But Klotz had no such thought. 

“I will take nothing — not the least thing,” 
said he, with a sort of stubbornness. “I beg 
you, noble lady, do not distress me with the con- 
sciousness that I have been treated thus.” 

The Marquise saw that she had to do with 
one whose noble sentiments were not inferior 
to his personal courage. But she was deter- 


82 Matthias Saves Marquis Crescis Life 

mined not to let him go until her husband had 
seen him and spoken with him. The day was 
nearly over, and Klotz wished to> set out upon 
his journey. But this time he could not have 
his wish. The Marquise sent one of the serv- 
ants to bring away his portmanteau, notwith- 
standing his remonstrance. 

“You must remain at least to-night at our 
expense,” insisted she. “You must not forget 
that you are now under the jurisdiction of the 
Marquis Cresci and must obey him.” 

Matthias at last yielded to the graceful com- 
pulsion brought to bear upon him and put off 
his journey until the next day. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


THANKS ARE REWARD ENOUGH FOR THE HEROIC 
KLOTZ. 

In his whole life Matthias Klotz had had no 
such magnificent repast as on that evening in 
the village of the Marquis Cresci. It was the 
same with his night's lodging. The best bed 
in the inn was ordered by the grateful Marquise 
to be arranged for him. It was no wonder that, 
even without the thorough weariness caused by 
his wanderings and the struggle with the fire, 
he slept an unbroken sleep till late in the morn- 
ing. The sun was high above the hills on the 
horizon when he at last awakened. He had 
never slept so late since his name had been 
Matthias. With one spring he was out of bed; 

83 


84 Thanks Reward Enough for Klotz 

in a short time he was dressed, and his external 
appearance as usual, so that he could show him- 
self to the people of the house and of the place. 
A fine breakfast awaited him, to which he did 
all justice. After that he wished to go on his 
road, for the day’s journey was to be a long 
one. But then, it was not to be expected that 
the lightning would strike, on his journey, 
the house of another marquis whose gratitude 
Klotz would call forth by saving his life. There- 
fore he now made use of this opportunity and 
ate and drank heartily. 

While he sat at breakfast the same servant 
appeared who had on the previous day brought 
his portmanteau, and informed him that the 
Marquis Cresci wished to speak to him in the 
villa. Matthias said he would obey the com- 
mand of the Marquis and be with him imme- 
diately. The servant shook his head as he de- 
parted, and thought the German must under- 
stand very little of good manners and the cus- 
toms of rank, or he would have left all food 
and drink at the invitation of such a nobleman 
as the Marquis Cresci. Antonio, as they called 


Thanks Reward Enough for Klotz 85 

the servant, could not have expressed this criti- 
cism to his master. The master would only have 
laughed. So brave a man as this young German 
need not trouble himself about the rules of life 
among the nobility; the chief thing is the in- 
tention, and that could never be praised enough. 

Antonio had just delivered the reply of Klotz 
to his master when another servant announced 
the arrival of the brave German. The Marquis 
immediately left the room and went to meet his 
preserver. 

“My best friend!” he cried, and took him 
in his arms. “How can I ever thank you ! You 
are my preserver. You have behaved like a 
hero and risked your life for me, a stranger. 
Tell me how I can repay you. Speak out your 
heart’s wish. If I can, I will gladly fulfill it.” 

Klotz, overcome by this reception, looked into 
the face of the young Marquis without a word. 
When Cresci released him from his embrace 
Matthias found his tongue. 

“Gracious sir,” he said, “do not make so 
much of what I did; it is not worth it. And 
there can be no talk of reward. A man dare not 


86 Thanks Reward Enough for Klotz 

take pay for a good deed ; that would be shame- 
ful. Besides, you have entertained me so roy- 
ally that I am paid long ago.” 

At this the Marquise appeared, insisting that 
Klotz should not go without some small token 
of gratitude; but he continued to refuse with 
such firmness, and to protest so earnestly that 
the hospitality shown him had paid for all he 
had done, that the Marquis and his wife were 
forced to accept his decision. 

“My parents taught me from the first,” he 
said, “that one word from the heart was worth 
more than gold.” 

“You have been taught noble principles,” said 
the Marquis, “and happy is the child who has 
such parents as yours. I see that you are in 
earnest. But I hear that you are a violin maker. 
Now, I have a great liking for that instrument, 
and play it, indeed, with some skill. If I give 
you an order to make me a fine violin, you will 
not refuse me that?” 

The eyes of the young German sparkled. 

“I shall be only too happy, gracious sir,” an- 
swered Matthias, with joyful countenance. 


Thanks Reward Enough for Klotz 87 

“This time I take your order gladly, and with 
thanks.” 

“Hear, then, my dear fellow,” continued the 
Marquis, “what I wish. It must be made as 
soon as possible. In Padua I know a master of 
your art, called Johann Railike; as his name 
indicates, he is a German. I shall give you a 
letter of introduction to him, and he wall gladly 
take you as one of his men. With him you may 
take your time to make my violin in your lei- 
sure hours. Spend all your art upon it, and ask 
what you will for it. I will gladly pay you a 
high price. Does my proposal suit you?” 

“It makes me happy, gracious sir,” replied 
Klotz. “To tell you the truth, I intended to go 
home. But now that such an opportunity offers 
to work and study with a new master of my art 
I will put off my going home. I will go to 
Padua, gracious sir, if you will give me a letter 
to Master Railike.” 

“With the greatest pleasure, and imme- 
diately,” said the Marquis. 

While the nobleman withdrew in order to 
write his letter the Marquise led the German 


88 Thanks Reward Enough for Klotz 

through the rooms and showed him the damage 
done by the fire. Everywhere skillful hands 
were already at work in order to remove all 
traces of the misfortune and restore the build- 
ing to its former condition. 

In making this round the Marquise came 
with her young companion to the room from 
which the master of the house had been rescued. 
Here the destruction was at its worst, and now 
Matthias saw clearly for the first time how 
great had been the danger. A gigantic beam 
had fallen from the room and lay directly be- 
fore the window through which he had made 
his way with the helpless Marquis. Not with- 
out a shudder, but, also, not without a thankful 
heart to God, Klotz remembered now that the 
beam cracked at the same moment in which he 
had passed with the Marquis. 

The Marquise looked thoughtfully at the 
beam. 

Matthias knew what was passing in her mind, 
and that her heart trembled at the fearful 
thought of her husband’s fate had he lain 
there when the beam fell. 


Thanhs Reward Enough for Klotz 89 

He sought to turn her attention from the 
subject, and with the ease which he owed to 
his knowledge of the Italian language he di- 
verted her thoughts. 

“If I am not mistaken,” said he, wisely, “I 
hear the voice of the Marquis calling you, 
Madame.” 

“Yes, he is looking for us,” said the Mar- 
quise, instantly. “Let us go !” 

The Marquis Cresci had not called, but Mat- 
thias thought it no harm to have used a little 
strategy with a good object. 

Now came the Marquis from his room, hold- 
ing the letter in his hand. He gave it to his 
young rescuer, with these words : 

“This is for J ohann Railike ; he will give you 
the warmest welcome in his power.” 

“I thank you, gracious sir,” said Klotz, and con- 
cealed the valuable letter carefully in his pouch. 
“And now permit me to take leave of you.” 

“And you will go, then, with no other reward 
than our thanks?” asked the Marquise. 

“These thanks are reward enough, gracious 
lady,” replied Matthias. “Through this order 


90 Thanks Reward Enough for Klotz 

of the Marquis I am better rewarded than with 
the richest gift.” 

As they saw that he was thoroughly satis- 
fied, they said no more. 

“But you must take the assurance with you, 
my brave fellow,” said the Marquis, “that as 
long as 1 live you will have a grateful friend 
who will never forget you. If you are ever in 
trouble, or if you need help which I can give 
you, think of the Marquis Cresci and come to 
him. Will you promise me this?” 

“I promise what you ask, gracious sir,” an- 
swered Matthias. 

The Marquis heartily shook his hand in 
adieu, as did his wife. 

“Our house stands always open to you,” said 
the noble lady. 

Matthias kissed the hand of the Marquise, and 
so took leave of the place and the people. 

Klotz turned back to the inn, where he had 
left his portmanteau. The host and his people 
received him most flatteringly, and there his 
simple, modest nature found no companion. 
The inn-keeper had made a good thing of it. 


Thanks Reward Enough for Klotz 91 

He knew that the stranger had done a great 
favor to the great man of the place, and deter- 
mined to show him all esteem and honor. 

Klotz, to whom all this fawning and flattery 
was disgusting, made but a short stay at the 
inn. But even from the house-door the host 
and his wife called blessings and good wishes 
after him, and the latter dropped curtsey after 
curtsey, as if he had been the Marquis himself. 
Matthias was truly glad when he had left all 
this behind him. 

Well content, he strode along the way. In 
his breast he had the consciousness that he had 
made his fellow creatures happy, while this 
good fortune without a doubt had not turned 
him away from heaven. It was a particular 
joy to Matthias that the good God had made 
use of him. With such thoughts, the young 
traveler continued on the way which led from 
Piacenza to Padua. 


CHAPTEK IX. 


IN PADUA WITH MASTER RAILIKE. 

In one of the narrow streets of Padua there 
stood in the door of a house a medium-sized 
man with folded arms. His good-natured blue 
eyes looked thoughtfully down the street in ex- 
pectation of some one. Now here, now there, 
many pedestrians appeared, but only to disap- 
pear in the distance or to pass the waiting 
man. 

The man in the house-door became a little 
restless. He fidgeted, and whistled in an un- 
dertone, keeping time with his right foot. 
Those who knew him and his ways could have 
told that with him this was a sign of impa- 
tience. 

Suddenly his countenance lighted up. He 
fixed his eyes on two young persons who 
were coming down the street together — a young 
92 


In Padua With Master Railike 93 

girl and a youth. The latter was a traveling 
journeyman; his portmanteau and staff told 
that. 

“Who comes with thee?” asked the man, as 
they drew near. He spoke in Italian, with a 
foreign accent. 

“A countryman of yours, father,” answered 
the girl, who was about a year younger than 
her companion. “As I turned into our street 
he asked me where Master Railike lived. As 
I am his daughter, I know the way very thor- 
oughly,” she concluded, with a light laugh, and 
disappeared into the house. 

“You would see me?” asked Railike. “Who 
are you, then?” 

“I am a violin maker, like yourself. My 
name is Matthias Klotz and my home is Mit- 
tenwald. An illustrious gentleman sent me to 
you.” 

With these words the stranger brought from 
the pocket of his pouch a letter, which he gave 
to the master. He looked at the writing. 

“From the Marquis Cresci ?” he asked, some- 
what surprised. He opened it immediately, and 


94 In Padua With Master Railike 

when he had read it looked at his young coun- 
tryman with friendliness and, according to the 
German fashion, gave him his hand in greet- 
ing, and said, cordially: 

“The Marquis writes me that I must take 
you into my house. He speaks of you enthusi- 
astically, because he owes you his life, he tells 
me. How, if you come to me with such an in- 
troduction, my dear countryman, I can not turn 
you from my door, although I do not need 
help.” 

And before Klotz knew it he had taken him 
by both hands and led him into the house and 
into a room. There they found the young girl 
who had guided Matthias. 

“Angela,” said Railike to her, “bring a 
pitcher of wine and whatever else thou hast to 
refresh an honest countryman of thy father. 
My dear Klotz, you must know that my little 
daughter is not only my one child, but also my 
housekeeper; my wife is dead many years. I 
am a widower. How go, Angela,” said the 
master to the girl, who had stood at her father’s 
side during this speech. 


In Padua With Master RailiTce 95 

Klotz would have refused this hospitality of- 
fered him. 

“ Never mind it, master,” he protested; “I am 
neither hungry nor thirsty. Nor am I weary, 
although I have made a pretty long journey.” 

But Railike would not listen, and Angela 
must go to prepare a welcome for his fellow' 
countryman and fellow artist. At the table 
Railike gave the young man the place of honor. 
Wine, bread, and other refreshments were 
placed before Matthias, and Railike pressed his 
guest to partake heartily. 

The hearts of the two men drew closer to- 
gether over the wine. Matthias learned that 
Railike was a genuine German, honest and 
good-natured, while the master rejoiced in se- 
cret over the frank and open character of the 
other. He soon assured himself, from their 
conversation on violin making, that Klotz was 
a very skillful journeyman, who had made the 
best use of his apprenticeship with the renowned 
Amati. 

Later they discussed a contract as to work, 
and Klotz had no trouble in arranging it to his 


96 In Padua With Master Railike 

satisiaction. For that day ho had nothing fur- 
ther to do but view the city and its objects of 
interest. Master Railike would not hear of be- 
ginning any work ; there would be time enough 
for that to-morrow, he said, and Klotz must 
yield to his will. 

So Matthias had another master, and one 
with whom he could study his art undisturbed 
by envy and jealousy. He felt very happy in 
the consciousness that he need no longer suffer 
from the annoyances which had so embittered 
his labors with Amati and Scarlatti. Among 
the journeymen at Railike’s, Matthias never 
heard an ill-natured word used; in the work- 
shop the German master never allowed quarrel- 
ing or disputing, and still less any violence. 
No wonder the workmen clung to these pleasant 
quarters and to their master; so that Railike 
not only never required strange workmen, but 
never had to stint his employees in their 
pay. 

Two months had already flown since Mat- 
thias had come to Padua. He had thought a 
good deal about the Marquis Cresci in that 


In Padua With Master Raililce 97 

time, particularly when he worked at the vio- 
lin during his leisure hours. 

One holiday Matthias sat in the workroom 
and occupied himself with the instrument for 
the Marquis. His thoughts flew to the village, 
and he pictured to himself the delight in the 
villa of the nobleman when he should hold the 
perfect instrument in his hand. Klotz wished 
to use all his skill upon it, that he might satisfy 
his noble patron. The money which he was to 
receive for his labor he intended to send home 
to his dear parents. It had often given him 
pain that he had never been able, in his love, to 
send any of his earnings ; for with all the econ- 
omy he could practice, his wages with Amati 
and with the niggardly Scarlatti had hardly 
sufficed for his needs. Master Eailike was the 
first to pay Matthias enough to make it pos- 
sible for him to save a little here and there. 

It was, therefore, no wonder that Matthias 
was contented with his new master. In his 
heart he often thanked God, who had sent him 
to so good a place through the Marquis Cresci. 

“And the Marquis will get as good a violin 


98 In Padua With Master Railike 

as possible. No violin maker in all Italy, up 
and down, can make a better,” said the youth, 
smiling to himself, while he carefully shaped a 
thin board for the sounding-board. 

The door opened. A stranger entered. He 
was the servant of a certain business house in 
Padua, commissioned by his master to carry a 
letter to Matthias Klotz. 

“Are you he for whom this letter is in- 
tended ?” asked the bearer. 

“I am he,” replied Matthias. 

“Then here it is,” said the other, and handed 
it to him. 

Matthias glanced hastily at the writing. 

“From my father !” he cried, joyfully. “How 
did you come by this letter ?” he asked the mes- 
senger. 

“A carrier from the Tyrol brought it with 
him to Verona, and from there a business friend 
of my master brought it the rest of the way.” 

“I thank you. And take this trifle,” said 
Matthew, taking a coin from his pocket. The 
messenger accepted it with thanks and departed. 

Matthias opened the letter with a beating 


In Padua With Master Railike 99 

heart. Some days after his arrival at the house 
of Railike he had written to his dear parents 
and given them tidings of his welfare. This 
was the answer of the father to the son. 

Matthew began to read. But at the first 
glance a cry of pain burst from his lips, and, 
choking with tears, he cried: 

“Oh, mother! my good mother! I have no 
mother now l” 

Yes ! There it was in the letter, as his father 
had written it : 

“My dear, good Son: With the saddest of 
news I must begin my letter. Have faith in 
Our Lord Jesus Christ and learn — thy good 
mother is dead. Three weeks ago we laid her 
in the grave. After a short illness God called 
her to Himself. Her last words were a blessing 
for thee, and she had but one wish before she 
left us forever — to see thee, her dear Mat- 
thias !” 


The poor fellow had not read further than 
this when his sorrow overwhelmed him, and 
he sat with his face hidden in his hands, weep- 

L OF C, 


100 In Padua With Master Railike 

ing over the heavy blow which had fallen upon 
him. 

Suddenly he rose from the work-bench, 
brushed the tears from his reddened eyes and 
left the workroom with his letter. His inten- 
tion was to go to the master and beg him to re- 
lease him; he would leave Padua at once and 
go home to his poor father, who would now 
need all the help and comfort he could give. 

On his way to his room he met Angela. 
Touched by his reddened eyes and sorrowful 
countenance, she asked him, gently: 

“What has happened, Matthias ?” 

“Oh, Fraulein, my good mother is dead! I 
have just received this letter from my 
father.” 

“Your mother ! Oh, how sorry I am for you, 
Matthias! I know what it is myself, the sor- 
row when one loses his mother.” 

In broken words Matthias thanked the good 
girl for her sympathy. Then he asked her: 

“Is the master in his room?” 

“Yes,” answered Angela. 

Klotz sought the master. He found him 


In Padua With Master Railike 101 

working at his account books, in which he was 
making some entries 

Kail ike had hardly looked into the counte- 
nance of the youth and marked the letter in 
his hand when he cried: 

“You have bad news from home! Is any- 
body dead?” 

Matthias tried to answer, but his sorrow mas- 
tered him, and he could not utter a syllable for 
tears and sobs; but he handed the master the 
letter to read. 

Railike read it, and when he had finished it 
reached his hand to his sorrowing countryman 
as a token of sympathy, with comforting words. 

Meanwhile Matthias had controlled himself 
so that he could speak. He laid his petition 
before the master and begged him to let him go. 

Railike was not pleased with the idea. He 
had come to know the young Mittenwalder as 
an exceptionally skillful workman, and also as 
his own particular property, so that he would 
part with him very reluctantly. 

“You would leave me, then ?” began the mas- 
ter, after a little pause. “But must it be so, Mat- 


102 In Padua With Master Railihe 

thias? What will you do with your father, 
when he himself does not wish that you should 
come home?” 

Matthias looked up, astonished. 

“My father does not wish it, you say, mas- 
ter ?” cried he. “Where did you learn that ?” 

“Here, in this letter ; it stands out clear and 
distinct.” 

“Is that true ? Let me see it, master ! Ah, 
I have not read the whole letter.” 

Matthias took the letter and his eyes fell on 
the following lines : “Great to me is the loss of 
your dear mother, and often have I longed to 
see you, Matthias, but I would not on any ac- 
count have you leave your master to come home. 
Remain in Padua as long as it suits you, and 
study hard, that you may become a skillful 
master.” 

Matthias sighed deeply. He had already per- 
mitted himself to think of the going home, and 
to do the will of his father disturbed him. 

“What will you do ?” Railike asked the youth, 
who stood silent and thoughtful over his letter. 
“Will you go or stay? Naturally, I can not hold 


In Padua With Master Railike 103 

you when you will not stay, but I can advise 
you not to go. On the contrary, I wish that 
you would respect* your father’s desire, for it 
would certainly be a good thing for me.” 

Master Railike was still speaking when his 
daughter came into the room. He told her of 
the sorrow that had come upon Matthias, and 
when she remarked that she already knew it, 
her father said : 

“And dost thou also know that Matthias 
would leave us ? He wishes to go home. Truly, 
no one blames him for this.” 

“How ! You would leave us ?” said Angela, 
in a tone which expressed her astonishment. 
“Ah, you can hardly be in earnest. You have 
only been a few weeks here. It is much more 
beautiful in Padua than in Mittenwald, where, 
as you yourself have told me, there is nothing 
to see but sky, forest, and mountain.” 

Matthias looked at the girl ; then he turned 
his eyes on the countenance of his master, whose 
look was an entreaty and seemed to beg Klotz 
to remain. 

In a moment Matthias felt his indecision 


104 In Padua With Master RailiTce 

vanish. ; he seemed to see the form of his father 
stand before him and to hear his voice advising 
him to stay with Railike. 

“You mean well by me,” he said to the mas- 
ter; “I know that, and because my father will 
have it so, I will remain with you so long as 
it is God’s will.” 

Railike w r as greatly relieved, and he did not 
hesitate to express his feelings in words. And 
Angela thanked him, saying: 

“My father likes you so much that it would 
have been a heavy trial to part wdth you. Thank 
you very, very much for remaining with him. 
He shall not regret it, shall he, father ?” 

Master Railike shook his head, smiling, and 
warmly pressed the hand of his favorite. 

So Matthias remained with Master Railike, 
and when the longing for his father seized 
him he resolutely bent his will to control his 
thoughts. Thus he banished the bitterness of 
the yearning for his distant home. 

Yet Matthias was firmly resolved to tie up his 
bundle and wander northward after another 


year. 


CHAPTER X. 


THE MASTER MAKES A PROPOSITION. 

Week after week went by — until Mat- 
thias had been half a year with Master Railike 
as his journeyman. How quickly the time had 
passed for him ! It seemed as if he had come 
to Padua but yesterday. Had it not been for 
the death of his beloved mother, there would 
have been no shadow on that half year. He had 
found favor with his master from the first, 
it had been his good fortune to hold his place, 
and Railike had come more and more to treat 
him as one of the family. The other journey- 
men began to make wry faces at this prefer- 
ence, but when they saw that Klotz lost none 
of his friendliness for them and was not over- 
elated by his privileges they soon took another 
view of it. 

With untiring industry Matthias had worked 
105 


106 The Master Makes a Proposition 

at the violin of the Marquis, and at last he 
brought it to his master to examine before he 
sent it to its owner. 

Railike examined the violin and tested it with 
an accuracy for which Klotz had not given him 
credit, although he could make a fine violin. 
But, with this, there seemed no end of exami- 
nation and tests, and Klotz wondered not a 
little. 

Railike looked grave and spoke little, but 
shook his head, as was his way when dissatis- 
fied. Finally, when he had put it to all the tests 
he could, he gave it back to the maker with a 
word: 

“It is well made; the Marquis will be satis- 
fied.” 

That was all. 

Matthias felt this cold silence a most un- 
pleasant experience. Why should his master 
act thus? Was it jealousy or envy that caused 
Railike’s conduct ? He had never been like that 
before. 

Klotz racked his brain over it, but said noth- 
ing. He packed the violin carefully in its ease. 


The Master Makes a Proposition 107 

wrote a neat letter to go with it, and carried 
both to a well-known merchant, whom he knew 
to be going to Piacenza, and requested him to 
take it to its address. The merchant willingly 
consented. 

Several days passed. Master Railike’s be- 
havior toward Klotz changed not a little. With- 
out being downright unfriendly, he showed a 
certain gravity and reserve to which Klotz was 
not accustomed. One thing consoled him — 
Railike treated the other journeymen in the 
same way, and even to his daughter Angela had 
the same manner. 

The thing was a riddle to Matthias. At last 
he decided to question the master openly and 
fearlessly as to the cause for this change. But 
before he had an opportunity Railike took him 
aside one morning after breakfast and said to 
him: 

“My dear Matthias, I have seen in your coun- 
tenance that you have not been pleased with 
my manner. You are not to blame in that. You 
have certainly believed that I had something 
against you ” 


108 The Master Makes a Proposition 

“I have, indeed, master,” interrupted Mat- 
thias, with lively emphasis. 

"No, Matthias, there is nothing of the kind,” 
and the master laughed heartily. 

“I think as much of you as ever — I love you 
as a father loves his son. But I have had a 
plan brewing in my mind for a few days which 
is most important and has occupied all my 
thoughts.” 

"That something weighty was upon your 
mind I could easily see, master,” said Matthias, 
from whose heart a stone was lifted by Railike’s 
words, "and I thought truly I was to blame. 
Yet, I have nothing to reproach myself with.” 

"Forgive me, Matthias,” pleaded Railike, 
mildly, "if I have put you to such a test. Let 
me have an honest word with you, as between 
two Germans. When I saw the violin which 
you so recently made for Marquis Cresci, of 
your own style and your tone, I found, to my 
delightful astonishment, that you — don’t get 
proud, Matthias — that you are indeed a master. 
I could not tell you so, for it all flashed on me 
in an instant, and words came slowly. But dur- 


The Master Makes a Proposition 109 

ing the last few days I made it all clear to my- 
self, and have carefully considered it, and the 
plan is ready to reveal. Now, Matthias, what 
do you think of staying with me altogether? 
You know how gladly I would have you do so. 
And I will do something else — my Angela is 
right good to you. How would it suit — to come 
back to my plan — if you made this your home ? 
I will give you my daughter for your wife, and 
you and I will work together, and all will be 
happy. Will you, Matthias?” 

Was ever man more astonished than Mat- 
thias ? 

For the first moment he did not know what 
to say. But at last he saw his way clear so far : 

“Dear master, I can not tell you how your 
offer honors me and overwhelms me. It is a 
very great thing and all the future hangs upon 
it. Any one in my place would say that — with- 
out taking time to think. Master, I must wait 
a little. I know, indeed, how good your Angela 
is, but that she thinks of me as you believe, 
master, I am not sure. Give me three days, and 
then I shall know.” 


110 The Master Makes a Proposition 

Railike looked at him, somewhat confused. 
He had hoped that Matthias would welcome the 
united aims with eager joy. And he asked 
three days to think it over ! 

“Of course I meant you should consider it,” 
said he. “And now that you have asked it, I 
give you the time.” 

The remarkable conference ended here. 

Matthias went to the Church of St. Anthony, 
the Guardian of Padua, and spent a long hour 
in prayer that day, seeking earnestly and hum- 
bly the direction of God in this important mat- 
ter. 

After three days he entered the master’s room 
and spoke to him in his own frank and modest 
way: 

“Master Railike, with all the love and grati- 
tude possible, I must tell you to-day, after 
thinking it over, that I cannot accept your 
offer.” 

“What ! You cannot, Klotz ?” cried Railike, 
surprised. “Do you know what you are say- 
ing?” 

“Certainly I do, master. And now listen 


The Master Makes a Proposition 111 

to my reasons. From the first I was doubtful 
whether your daughter, kind as she was to me, 
did not prefer your old journeyman. Give them 
to each other, master, and make two whom the 
good God intended for each other happy to- 
gether.” 

Eailike turned no friendly countenance on 
Klotz at these words. What he had heard as 
his answer evidently did not suit him at all. He 
did not speak, and Matthias continued : 

“In the second place, I cannot separate my- 
self for life from home. I must go back to my 
father and to Mittenwald. I cannot live with- 
out the mountains and the forest and my child- 
hood’s people for all my days. But I will prom- 
ise you, Master Eailike, that I shall stay with 
you six years. If that pleases you, so be it.” 

Matthias extended his hand to the master. 

Eailike hesitated a moment. His counte- 
nance showed the disappointment his friend 
caused him. 

“Matthias,” said he, presently, laying his 
hand in that of Matthias, “my fancy has 
painted the future so bright that I find it 


112 The Master Makes a Proposition 

hard to give it up ; but if it cannot be, I am con- 
tent to have you remain with me as long as you 
will” 

A smile played around the lips of Matthias. 

“But there is a condition I must make,” he 
said, and his blue eyes beamed with a mild fire. 

“Ah, a condition?” said Railike. “Well, let 
me hear it. If it is not hard you shall have 
your own way.” 

“Promise me, master.” 

“I promise.” 

“Now, do not refuse your daughter the desire 
of her heart. I have promised her that I would 
speak a word for them. Do you understand it 
now, master?” 

Master Railike looked at Klotz in astonish- 
ment. 

“Well, you do as you please with me,” he said, 
after a pause, during which he had seemed un- 
decided whether to get angry or to put a good, 
face on it. “Instead of becoming yourself the 
son in my house, you speak a good word for 
another fellow.” 

Railike’ s countenance cleared. He could not 


The Master Makes a Proposition 113 

be angry with Matthias in earnest, although 
this business of Angela’s was not at all to his 
liking. It had been going on a long time, and 
he knew it, of course, but he had hoped that 
Klotz would find favor in her eyes. Instead of 
this, he had promised Angela to persuade her 
father to consent to her marriage with Enrico ! 
Master Eailike would have been much better 
pleased to see the young Mittenwalder his son- 
in-law. But that was not to be thought of now. 
Railike must content himself with the six years 
Klotz had promised to spend with him. The 
proof that he valued this highly was given in 
his fulfillment of the condition after a short 
time. He betrothed his daughter to Enrico. 

Thus Matthias had the certainty of having 
secured the happiness of two young people and 
of having made a faithful friend of Enrico 
Albano. 


CHAPTER XI. 


THE MITTENWALDER RETURNS TO HOME AND 
EATHER. 

The near future brought the young Mitten- 
walder no noteworthy adventures. Matthias 
found his own happiness in his work and in 
the thought of his home. Many a time it 
seemed to him that he had made a mistake in 
promising to stay with Master Railike six long 
years, and he would have given much if he 
could have been freed from his contract. 

But with the passage of time these thoughts 
and impulses grew less and less disturbing, and 
were succeeded more and more by peace and 
contentment in his soul, the outgrowth of trust 
in God and the power of prayer. Now he saw 
what he owed to the pious teaching of his par- 
ents, and in him was exemplified the teaching 
of the Apostle: “In godliness there is great 
gain.” 


114 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 115 

One day the merchant who had taken the 
Marquis Cresci’s violin came to the workroom; 
his manner showed at once that he had fulfilled 
his commission satisfactorily. 

“Did the instrument reach its journey’s end 
in safety, Signor?” asked Matthias, and his 
heart throbbed in expectation of the answer. 

“Without a flaw,” answered the merchant. 
“The Marquis showed great delight over the 
beautiful thing; he said you were a master — 
yes, that is so, he called you a master — and 
seemed as if he would never be done looking at 
it and listening to it. He sends you greeting, 
Master Klotz, and this by my hands.” 

With these words the merchant took from a 
leather purse which hung at his girdle twenty 
Florentine gold pieces, which he handed to Mat- 
thias. 

“That is the pay for your work,” said the 
messenger, amused at the astonishment of the 
young man, who stood staring at the sparkling 
gold. 

“This is a great deal too much !” came finally 
from the lips of the fortunate Klotz, in devout 


116 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

gratitude. Such an acknowledgment of his skill 
had never been imagined by him in his wildest 
dreams. 

“The Marquis Cresci was not of your opin- 
ion,” said the merchant, “or he would not have 
sent you this sum. For the rest, you are in 
high favor with him and the whole family. Not 
only the Marquis, but the Marquise and the 
children, inquired for you with great interest 
and welcomed the violin. The Marquis told me 
what you did for him, and he told me, also, 
that he would hold you in grateful remem- 
brance all his life as his preserver. He charged 
me to remind you that if ever you need help or 
succor you are to turn to him — he will always 
be your friend.” 

Klotz was deeply moved by this message. 

“The Marquis overvalues my services,” he 
said. “But his words are as gold to me, be- 
cause they show me that I have secured the 
friendship of that noble family. And it is a 
good thing when a man knows he is esteemed 
and valued by other people.” 

He thanked the merchant for his kindness 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 117 

and would have had him take a gold piece for 
his trouble, but he was a rich man and would 
not hear of it. 

That day Klotz was the happiest of men, not 
because he had been so well paid for his violin, 
but because he was now assured that his stand- 
ing as an artist was high, and because he could 
now send the means of support to his dear, 
good father, who sorely needed it. He made 
use of the next opportunity to send the half of 
the price of the violin, accompanied by a let- 
ter filled with love and gratitude, to the old 
father in the distant home. 

Month after month went by, year after year 
was added up, and the restless course of time 
brought the end. 

Matthias worked always steadily and with 
unwearied endeavor to perfect himself in his 
art. Thus the moment approached which 
should bring to a close his stay with Master 
Railike. With deeply troubled mien the master 
heard his journeyman say to him at last : 

“Dearest master! it grieves me that I can 
no longer stay with you and serve you. You 


118 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

know the six years are up. I did not think they 
would pass so quickly. Master, I have one 
favor to ask of you. Give me a certificate to 
show that I was six years in your house as your 
journeyman.” 

The master’s eyes were wet as Matthias 
spoke. 

“My dear Matthias,” he said, sorrowfully, 
“if it were in my power, thou shouldst not leave 
me, for it is as if half my life leaves Padua 
with thee. Because I cannot keep thee, thou 
must go with God into the world, and certainly 
with such a certificate as no journeyman ever 
bore away from me, nor ever will.” 

Thereupon Master Railike dressed himself in 
his holiday attire and left the house. He re- 
turned in about an hour with a parchment 
beautifully and wonderfully written and orna- 
mented, which he handed to Matthias. 

“Here is your certificate, my dear Matthias/* 
he said; “read it. It is officially signed and 
sealed, as you see.” 

Klotz looked at the lines. His countenance 
beamed with joy and pride. And here follows 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 119 

a translation of the Apprentice’s Letter, or 
Labor Certificate: 


Laus Deo, May 10, 1678, Padna. 

I, the Undersigned, do testify on my Oath, 
that Matthias Klotz, of Mittenwald, served in 
my workshop in the Leutare al Santa during 
six years, as Journeyman, with all honest and 
good service, was always obedient, punctual, and 
modest, never transgressing the limits of good 
behavior and respectability, but always serving 
as an example in his work and his conduct. To 
this testimony, 

I, Jouane Railike, set the seal of my father. 

I, Venture Mamini, witness the above. 

I, Bartolo Mauro, witness the above. 

Here follows the testimony of the signature 
on the side of the Republic of Venice and the 
Year of the Republic. 

Padua, 20 Mai, 1202. 

[L. S.] Darius de Saniotis.* 

♦There is an exact copy of this certificate, writ- 
ten on parchment. It is beautifully ornamented; 
on the right is the Coat of Arms of the City of 
Venice; on the left, that of Padua; in the lower 
right-hand corner is the holy St. Anthony of 
Padua, in the left-hand corner St. Ambrose. This 
remarkable document is preserved in the home of 
Klotz. 


120 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

Matthias read it to the end. He conld not 
speak for emotion, and conld only press his 
master’s hand in thanks. 

When the next morning dawned on Padua, 
Matthias stood before the man whom he had 
served with true affection for six years, all 
ready for his journey. The hearts of both were 
full, and when the tears filled their eyes neither 
was ashamed of them. 

The parting was short but touching. 

“ Farewell, master, and all thanks be yours for 
your love and kindness !” said Matthias, the 
tears running down his cheeks. 

“God be with you, dear Matthias, and do not 
forget your old master !” said Railike, with 
broken voice. 

Once more a pressure of the hands and he 
was gone. 

Thus Matthias Klotz left Padua. But he did 
not go directly north. He first turned his steps 
toward Venice, and after that — so runs the 
tradition — he went to Cremona, where he 
sought out his honored master, Nicolo Amati, 
and worked for him a short time. From Cre- 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 121 

mona he started home in earnest. On this last 
journey he stopped several times with various 
masters of his profession, from each of whom 
he learned something useful in his art, and at 
Absam he wept over the grave of the great 
Jacob Stainer, who had died that year, still in 
the darkness of insanity. 

After many hardships, caused by the rough 
roads and the weather, Klotz drew near his 
home. 

No one recognized the stately young man who 
stepped one day down the road from Scharnitz, 
and he himself saw no one that he knew. 

He reached his father’s house. It was the 
same little brown wooden house, with the shady 
arbor and the overhanging, sheltering roof, 
under which the swallows built their nests. 
There stood the same bench before the house- 
door, and the brook murmured by it; it was 
all — all — as when the little boy went to Italy 
with the carrier Achleitner. 

Was the world not older, then? 

With trembling heart he opened the door 
of the dwelling-room. 


122 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

Before the low window there sat a man bend- 
ing low over his tailoring. His hair was grown 
gray and his countenance was furrowed with 
the touches of time. 

On the entrance of the stranger he looked 
up and answered his greeting. He did not per- 
ceive that the voice of the stranger trembled. 

“What will the gentleman have?” asked the 
tailor. “Perhaps a new coat?” 

“Hot that,” answered Matthias, trying hard 
to suppress his emotion ; “I want more.” 

“More?” 

“Yes. I want my father — my good, dear 
father,” sprang from the joyful lips of the son, 
who could no longer control himself. His port- 
manteau was thrown aside and he seized the 
speechless old man in his arms. 

“Father! Father! Don’t you know your 
own Matthias?” 

“My dear Lord!” cried the old tailor, and 
he threw his trembling arms around the dear 
son. “Art thou really Matthias? Oh, to have 
you with us once again ! Thou art welcome to 
me, heartily, a thousand times.” 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 123 

And the old man sobbed with joy and grief 
together. 

“Oh, if thy mother had but lived!” came 
from the lips of the gray-haired father. 

“Ah, yes, my mother!” 

The thought pierced Matthias to the heart, 
and his tears flowed freely. 

The news that Matthias Klotz had come 
home from Italy flew through the place, from 
house to house. And soon the tailor’s home 
was filled with acquaintances and companions 
of Matthias’ childhood. The joy of the long- 
parted seemed never coming to an end. The 
most of them would not have recognized Mat- 
thias, for he was only ten years old when he 
went into Italy, and since then he had had time 
to change in every way. 

His first visit was to the Church of St. Nich- 
olas, which stands in the Market Place. Here 
he thanked God for His great goodness and 
the many graces which had fallen to him in 
strange lands, and he earnestly besought the 
blessing of Heaven on his future. 

Matthias wished now to turn his knowledge 


124 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

of his art and his experience of violin making 
to a good use for Mittenwald. The plan had 
dwelt in his mind for years — to make of his 
home a German Cremona. It was an ambitious 
thought, but it was worthy the soul of a Klotz. 
And now he came to God to seek His blessing 
on it. 

Finally he rose from his knees and went 
back of the high altar, which stood out. He 
drew a knife from his pocket and, as a votive 
offering, carved his name thus : 

Matthias Klotz, violin maker, 

20 years old, 1684. 

This inscription is still preserved. It attracts 
attention by its beauty. 

With renewed courage Klotz returned to his 
father’s house, where he soon disclosed his plan. 
Laughing for joy, his father heard him, and 
in fancy already saw his son at the head of a 
great business house sending its wares to dis- 
tant lands. Such wondrous visions had not 
taken possession of Matthias’ mind as yet — he 
wished only to be useful and found a school. 
The rest, he hoped, would come. 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 125 

His first step was to get some scholars. There 
were some boys who were poor relations whom 
he took first. He assembled them in the even- 
ing before the house-door, and related to the 
astonished children what he had seen and 
learned in Cremona, Padua, and other places, 
and how many thousand violins were sent each 
year into the world. He related these things 
so well that the attention of his hearers never 
wandered after his recital began. 

But, notwithstanding this, his plan did not 
receive proper consideration in wider circles. 

“We have better employment for our boys,” 
said many Mittenwalders. “Then why should 
we let them learn violin making? With the 
freight and the rafts, they can do far better.” 

Matthias, to whose ears this talk came back, 
did not trouble himself. 

“There will come a time,” said he, “when the 
Mittenwalders will speak otherwise and when 
they will think different of the violin.” 

And Klotz was right. 

The Mittenwalders had grown proud because 
the Venetians, who used to hold their yearly 


126 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

market at Botzen, in South Tyrol, had removed 
it to Mittenwald. But soon threatening clouds 
gathered in the summer sky of their prosperity. 
Already the Thirty Years’ War had hampered 
and disturbed the fortunate Mittenwalders. 
Then came the Bishop of Augsburg, who sought 
to lead the tide of commerce from Augsburg 
through the city of Fiissen. From there it 
would take its course to Reutte and Fernstein 
through Finstermunz. These efforts had been, 
in part, successful. 

But the finishing stroke to Mittenwald in 
those days was in the year 1679, when the Ve- 
netians again removed the market to Botzen, 
which lay nearer to them and was easier of ac- 
cess than Mittenwald. 

Now the Mittenwalders began to reflect and 
to calculate, before it was too late. “ After all,” 
said they, “the plan of Matthias Klotz was not 
so bad, and when he succeeds he can always be 
of use to us.” 

And some of the burghers sent their sons to 
Matthias as pupils. 

The thing now began to live as Matthias had 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 127 

foreseen. Pupils flocked to him and the Mit- 
tenwalders manifested an interest. But Klotz 
was not rich, and money was needed. The old 
house must be added to and enlarged to fulfill 
the aims of the school. The little that he had 
saved was soon exhausted, for the tools for the 
workroom were costly, and must be brought 
from Italy, as those made at home were not fine 
enough. 

One morning Klotz arose with a thoughtful 
brow. He had had a fearful dream in the night. 
He dreamed that he had builded a mighty 
tower, which rose above the highest of the Kar- 
wendel mountains. He stood on the top of it 
and looked abroad into the far distance — but 
suddenly the building began to totter, and with 
a loud crash fell to ruins. 

It was a terrible dream. 

Matthias reflected long upon the significance 
of it, for, while he did not believe in dreams, 
the matter rested with him just now rather 
peculiarly. He was that day to pay a large 
sum to a burgher, who had loaned it for a time 
and now had need of it. 


128 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

With troubled heart he began his day’s work. 
His pupils soon noticed that the master was 
not in his usual good spirits, for he did not 
sing or whistle or direct the work with cheerful 
words. He was silent and reserved, only speak- 
ing when it was absolutely necessary. 

At last he laid down his tools. 

“Go on with the work,” he said to the young 
workmen; “I will soon be here.” And he left 
the workroom. 

He turned his steps to St. Nicholas’ Church. 
There he poured out his heart before the high 
altar and fervently prayed for help and sup- 
port. 

Then, strengthened by prayer, he returned 
and quietly took up his task. 

Two days after this his father came to 
Matthias in the workroom and said to him: 

“Thou must go into the dwelling-room. There 
is an Italian there who wishes to speak with 
thee.” 

Matthias found a stranger, who represented 
himself as a merchant from Piacenza; he spoke 
only broken German, but well enough to have 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 129 

no difficulty in making himself understood. But 
as he noticed Klotz spoke Italian perfectly, they 
used that tongue, and he said to him : 

“Can you recall a certain Signor Giovanni 
Lupi in Piacenza?” 

Klotz thought a moment. The remembrance 
of the noble man and artist who had treated 
him in such a truly Christian manner when 
Scarlatti had ill-used him came to him then. 

“Certainly, I remember that good man !” he 
cried, in delight. “How is he ?” 

“As well as a man can be whom Heaven has 
blessed on earth for his good deeds; he is 
healthy and happy, and sends you a hearty 
greeting. You will be not a little surprised 
when I tell you, Master Klotz, that Signor Lupi 
is a . relative of Marquis Cresci, whom you saved 
from the fire.” 

“A relative !” exclaimed Matthias, in great 
astonishment. “Is it possible ?” 

“Certainly it is,” answered the merchant. 
“After a long while Signor Lupi learned the 
danger in which his relative had been, and that 
he knew the man to whom the Marquis owed 


130 Matthias Returns to Home and Father 

his life. The two gentlemen determined to send 
yon a valuable present to Padua, where you had 
been. But it was after you left there, and the 
money was sent back to the Marquis. Signor 
Lupi learned that I intended to make a journey 
to Augsburg and he commissioned me to bring 
this to you in the name of the Marquis Cresci 
and himself.” 

With that he handed the astonished Matthias 
a good-sized, heavy packet. 

The messenger could scarcely tarry for the 
thanks with which the joyful Matthias would 
have overwhelmed him. He said that the length 
of his journey required dispatch on his part. 
But he promised to stop with him for a long 
visit on his return, and Klotz was forced to be 
content with the prospect. 

And now he opened the packet. A beauti- 
fully ornamented box lay before him. He raised 
the cover and — who can describe his astonish- 
ment ? — a quantity of gold pieces sparkled before 
him ! 

“Father !” cried he, falling on the old man’s 
neck in his joy, “God has heard my prayer ! He 


Matthias Returns to Home and Father 131 

has not forgotten me when the need was great- 
est ! Now we are helped, father ! — now we are 
helped !” 

At a sign the two knelt on the floor of the 
room, and, with hands raised to the crucifix on 
the wall, they gave thanks aloud to God, the 
almighty Helper of His children, who never 
forsakes them when they call upon Him in their 
need. 

When Matthias counted the money there were 
two hundred gold pieces ! It was a fortune. 

And now the young master found himself in 
a position not only to establish his credit at 
home, but also to arrange for an extension of 
his business with the necessary financial secur- 
ity. In the eyes of his fellow-burghers respect- 
ful consideration for him greatly increased, and 
the inhabitants of the place who saw in Mat- 
thias Klotz a great man, continually added to 
their number as he walked through the Market 
Place of Mittenwald. 


CHAPTER XII. 


MASTER KLOTZ RETURNS GOOD FOR EVIL. 

Matthias had soon finished a number of fine 
violins, and now the question was to bring sup- 
ply and demand together. 

In the neighboring Bavaria, Tyrol, and Swit- 
zerland were the best markets for his wares 
that he found. The cloister in Werdenfels was 
the first that occurred to him — the monks there 
were the guardians of music. 

Matthias determined to take a pack on his 
back and, thus equipped, make his first en- 
trance into the world with his violins. 

One day he carefully packed his wares to- 
gether, took leave of his father and his pupils, 
and left Mittenwald, first having committed 
himself to the care of God in the Church of St. 
Nicholas. 


132 


Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 133 

His first stopping-place was the cloister of 
Ettal, in Ammerlandchen. This was the home 
of the sons of St. Benedict, not only enthusias- 
tic musicians themselves, but teachers and lead- 
ers of music. 

Klotz entered the cloister gaily and knocked 
on the door. 

The brother-porter opened it. 

“Praised be J esus Christ l” said the monk. 

“For all eternity. Amen !” answered the mas- 
ter. He was immediately led into the guest- 
room for strangers. 

After Klotz had refreshed himself with the 
food and enjoyed the wine set before him he 
asked to see the reverend Abbot. 

His request was granted. 

The Abbot, a thin, ascetic-looking man, wel- 
comed the stranger with much friendliness and 
inquired his business. 

“Most reverend Father,” began Klotz, “I am 
a violin maker from Mittenwald, and called 
Matthias Klotz. I have been many years with 
the first masters. I have worked and studied 
with Jacob Stainer, in Absam; with Nicolo 


134 Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 

Amati, in Cremona, and others ; and now, with 
God’s help, I have myself opened a school for 
violin makers. I have brought some proofs of 
my skill with me ; perhaps they may find favor 
in your eyes ” 

“I understand you, my dear son,” interrupted 
the Abbot Eberhard, quickly; “let me see one 
of your instruments at once. I myself play a 
little on the violin, and music is held in great 
honor by us.” 

With joy Klotz hastened to produce the 
violin. 

When the Abbot Eberhard saw the beautiful 
instrument he enthusiastically expressed his sat- 
isfaction. He took it in hand and drew the 
bow across it. 

Klotz listened entranced. Such playing he 
had never heard — this son of St. Benedict was 
a heaven-born artist. And he, Matthias Klotz, 
had made this instrument, from which the Ab- 
bot knew how to summon such heavenly tones ! 

The monk closed with a dying cadence. 

“What do you ask for this violin, Master 
Klotz ?” was his first question. 


Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 135 

Klotz named a certain sum. 

The Abbot Eberhard looked at him in sur- 
prise. 

“You are not right in your mind,” said he, 
in friendly seriousness ; “you do not understand 
how to value your violins. If you don’t know 
how to ask a better price you will never feather 
your nest. I will give you double for it. How 
many such violins have you with you ?” 

“Ten in all,” answered Klotz, who could have 
shouted for joy. 

“And are they all like this ?” 

“Yes, most reverend Father.” 

“Good! I will take them all. And if you 
come to Ettal again just knock on the door.” 

Klotz kissed the hand of the good Abbot in 
gratitude, and thanked him in warm but trem- 
bling words. The Abbot handed him the money 
and dismissed him with his blessing. 

“And if you go to the monasteries of Beuren, 
Steingaden, Polling, and Schlehdorf,” said he 
to him at parting, “say to the reverend Abbot, 
with my hearty greeting, that I commend you 
as an honest and skillful master.” 


136 Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 

This was a good beginning for Master Klotz. 
God’s blessing was on him and on his work. 
Joyfully he went back to Mittenwald, where his 
arrival was anxiously expected. New energy was 
displayed in the workroom of Klotz. 

Like his master, Jacob Stainer, Matthias was 
often in the mountains. The finest and best 
wood for his purpose grew on the Sonnenber- 
gen. There he sounded the trees and listened 
for their singing. His pupils accompanied him, 
and as Master Stainer had shown him, so he 
showed them the “year-marks” and the “sound- 
ing-boards” on the fallen pines and firs. 

Years passed. The industry and skill of Klotz 
had already borne good fruit. Throughout the 
country his name was known as one of the lead- 
ing masters. Even in the rich assemblies of 
Augsburg his violins had been taken up. Also 
in the castles of the nobles and in the princely 
residences he was known. 

It was an autumn day. A raw wind swept 
through the woods of the Isar valley, and across 
the face of the Karwendel mountains fluttered 
gray masses of cloud. A lonely traveler entered 


Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 137 

Mittenwald. He walked wearily, and pale hun- 
ger looked from his eyes. His skin and hair 
were of the South. 

After a long struggle the stranger had 
reached the first house of the place. But, be- 
yond the Market, the little strength he had left 
him entirely, and he sank with a bitter sigh into 
the ditch beside the road. 

Slowly the twilight overspread the landscape ; 
the night drew near — the unfortunate lay still 
in the same place, for no one passed that 
way. 

Suddenly a step sounded on his ear. It came 
nearer; now it was close at hand, and a weak 
voice sounded from the ditch. 

The traveler stopped. He looked toward the 
ditch and discovered the form of a human being. 
He asked who the poor soul was, and the answer 
came, in Italian accents : 

“Signor, stay with me; I am almost dead of 
hunger and want.” 

The traveler hastened immediately to help 
the unfortunate man. He raised him up and 
took him to his own house. 


138 Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 

As they entered, an oil-lamp burned on the 
table. Its light fell full on the face of the 
stranger, who sank breathless on a stool. He 
looked slowly around the room of his rescuer; 
on the wall there hung some violins and some 
tools of a violin maker. 

“Where am I, then?” asked the Italian. 

“In the house of the violin maker Klotz,” 
was the answer. 

“Are you he?” asked the stranger, fixing his 
burning eyes on his host. 

“Yes,” answered the other. “You have fallen 
into good hands. I was myself in Italy, and 
I know how glad one is when he falls into good 
hands when in trouble.” Klotz said nothing 
more, but went to his wife Maria, in the kitchen, 
and asked for some warm soup for the poor 
man whom he had left in the house. 

The stranger was very silent. He barely an- 
swered “yes” and “no,” and seemed to be sunk 
in thought, turning his eyes from the light. 

They brought him something to eat. An in- 
vitation to take supper at the table he declined 
with thanks and remained sitting by the stove. 


Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 139 

Then he begged a lodging for the night in some 
corner of the house. 

Klotz led the man into a back room, where 
there was a clean bed for a guest. Matthias 
placed a dim light on the table, and would have 
left him with a “good-night,” when suddenly 
the Italian sank down at his feet and cried, 
with a burst of tears : 

“I do not deserve so much kindness ! Do you 
not know me?” 

Klotz looked closely at his countenance; he 
thought he had seen the face before. In an in- 
stant it flashed upon him. 

“Art thou not Muraldi, from Cremona?” 

“Yes, I am that wretch,” sobbed the poor 
fellow. “I am a wretch! I have done thee so 
much evil, Matthias, thrust me out of thy 
house ” 

“Rest easy!” said the violin maker, in com- 
forting accents, trying to raise the kneeling 
figure. 

“I will not rise until thou hast forgiven me !” 
said Francesco, and raised imploring hands. 

The tears came into Klotz* eyes. 


140 Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 

“I forgive thee, gladly, and am happy to know 
thou art forgiven,” said the good-natured Ger- 
man master, embracing the sobbing penitent. 
“Thou art, perhaps, without knowing it, the 
source of my good fortune.” 

Francesco told his story. Hard, trying years 
were those which had passed over him — in his 
eyes a severe but well-deserved punishment for 
the evil which he had done to Klotz. The law 
followed him everywhere, and in order to escape 
it he had fled to foreign lands. Sometimes in 
this place, sometimes in that, to-day the servant 
of a noble lord, to-morrow a soldier, then a mule 
driver in the Tyrol; but never able to earn his 
bread as a violin maker. After several years 
of wandering about — so he closed his story — he 
had arrived this day at Mittenwald, entirely 
destitute and almost starved. 

Such was the story of the unfortunate Mu- 
raldi. 

How, after he had confessed to Klotz his 
heart appeared lighter, and the comforting 
words of the master gave him peace. For many 
years he had not slept so well and peacefully — 


Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 141 

he had, at least, the forgiveness of the man he 
had treated so badly. But Matthias prayed in 
secret for the poor man whom the good God 
had so heavily punished. He was silent as to 
the stranger and guarded the secret in his 
breast, although when he went back into the 
dwelling-room they asked him many ques- 
tions. 

The next morning Francesco wished to go on. 
He asked his noble friend once more for his for- 
giveness and thanked him for the kindness and 
pity he had shown him. 

Klotz took him aside and said to him : 

“ Yesterday I forgave thee; to-day I offer thee 
an honest situation, which thou must not cast 
aside. Bemain with me and be my journeyman ; 
I can pay thee good wages, and all that thou 
dost not know thou canst learn, from time to 
time, throughout the year.” 

Francesco was deeply touched by this action 
of the good-hearted man. He felt in secret that 
he was not worthy of the love of such a man 
as this, whom he had so deeply wronged. Was 
it not enough that Klotz had forgiven him — 


142 Master Klotz Returns Good for Evil 

that he had not left him helpless, but had stood 
by him in his necessity ? 

The Mittenwald master turned away from the 
thanks of the Italian. He placed him con- 
fidingly on his right hand, and said : 

“Let us forget the past — and remain with me. 
Believe me, Francesco, the good God has sent 
thee to me that thou mayst learn He loves thee 
as His other children.” 

Big tears ran down the beard of Muraldi. He 
fell on the neck of his friend and promised him, 
with the grace of God, to become a bet- 
ter man. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


KLOTZ MAKES MITTENWALD THE CREMONA OP 
GERMANY. 

Francesco remained in Mittenwald. The 
promise he had made to his friend he kept with 
fidelity. He altered his whole life; from a pas- 
sionate, vindictive man he became of a quiet, 
yielding disposition, and wdien occasionally the 
old temper was aroused the remembrance of his 
promise to Klotz restrained him. Matthias soon 
saw that he had learned little in the workroom 
of Amati, but now he soon became a skillful 
workman, the best Klotz had in his school. 
Therefore he was no longer treated as a journey- 
man, but as a friend. 

When the time came again for Klotz to go 
forth with his pack to dispose of his wares it 
was very hard for him to make his arrangements 

for the journey. Francesco remarked this re- 
143 


144 Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 

luctance, and at last suggested that he be al- 
lowed to go in the place of Klotz. If he could 
not talk so well as the master, the good wares 
which he offered for sale would speak for them- 
selves, and the rest would come. 

After some consideration Klotz decided to 
accept Francesco’s suggestion. He pointed out 
to him all that was required of him, and gave 
him a map of the road, with the names of the 
places where he must stop. 

Muraldi set off. He hoped to return in a 
week or a fortnight, he said, as he crossed the 
doorstep. 

Augsburg was one of the cities he was to visit. 
It was a great home of music. The Mittenwald 
violins were known there and held by many 
judges to equal those of Amati. In the last year 
another make of violins had come across the 
Alps which bore the names of Guarneri and 
Straduari, and disputed the ground with Amati. 
But they found it difficult to hold the market 
against the violins of the Mittenwald school. 

Francesco took great trouble to do the best 
he could with those he had for sale. In a short 


Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 145 

time he had sold all but one, and with this one 
he went on to Augsburg. 

Here he knew the name of an artistes friend, 
at whose door, as they say, he did not knock in 
vain. He was a merchant who loved music pas- 
sionately and recklessly. Francesco had the good 
fortune to sell him the last violin at a much 
higher price than he had expected. Now he 
had nothing to do but turn back to Mittenwald 
early the next day. 

At the inn where he had his lodgings he met 
a man who was a countryman of his. He was 
from Cremona, and also dealt in violins, par- 
ticularly those of Guarneri. 

“Hast thou done a good business?” Fran- 
cesco asked this man, whose name was Paolo 
Rondo. “For my part, I am well satisfied. I 
think I could sell a whole pack of violins in this 
city to-morrow.” 

“Is that so?” cried the other, and an envious 
expression flashed across his face. “And how 
much hast thou taken for thy wares until now ?” 

“Four hundred gulden,” answered Muraldi, 
contentedly. 


146 Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 

“Then thou hast been much more fortunate 
than I have ; I have sold only two pieces. Every- 
where I went they were either supplied or 
wanted a Klotz. Master Guarneri is very little 
known.” 

They remained a long while together, and 
when it came time for bed the two fellow- 
countrymen shared the same sleeping-room. 

Francesco soon fell asleep. 

In the middle of the night he awoke. It 
seemed to him he heard a noise near his bed. He 
reached for his clothes, which he had placed 
near him on the bed, for in his coat he carried 
the little packet of money received for his vio- 
lins. He felt that it was safe, and again closed 
his eyes. It must have been a little mouse, per- 
haps, that awakened him. His countryman slept 
soundly, for he snored like a wood saw\ 

But when Francesco awoke in the morning 
and dressed he discovered, to his dismay, that 
Rondo had stolen the whole four hundred 
gulden and by that time was far away. In all 
haste Francesco rushed from the inn and sought 
through the streets of Augsburg, but no trace 


Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 147 

of the thief was to be found. He betook himself 
to the authorities and bewailed his loss ; no one 
could do more than promise that the strictest 
search should be made for the thief. 

Comfortless and a prey to despair, Francesco 
again sought the inn. The host condoled with 
him from his heart, but he could not do more. 

Muraldi left the city with the most frightful 
thoughts thronging upon him. How could he 
ever go back to Mittenwald ? Would his friend 
believe him that any one had so shamefully 
robbed him? Who was a witness of his fellow- 
townsman’s theft? 

Long, Francesco deliberated what to do. Still, 
the hateful temptation pursued him to throw 
himself into the river or to end his life in 
some other way. He believed he could never face 
his friend again. But he put these thoughts 
from him like a man; he would return to Mit- 
tenwald and work hard until he had earned the 
whole sum and replaced the loss. 

On the third day he reached home. Ah, with 
what a beating heart he approached the house 
of his friend and entered the dwelling-place ! 


148 Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 

Matthias greeted him heartily. Francesco 
felt that the welcome was heartier than ever, and 
it increased his distress. 

"Thou hast done well, dear Francesco,” began 
Matthias, with a joyful look into the empty pack. 

"Well, indeed, dear friend,” answered Mu- 
raldi, "but — but ” 

"Didst thou have any bad luck?” asked Mat- 
thias, sympathetically. "Now, whatever it may 
be. Our Lord will know what is best to do.” 

This answer encouraged Muraldi somewhat, 
but with great distress he told what had hap- 
pened to him. Matthias heard with a sinking 
heart; his countenance grew dark — it was a 
heavy loss for him to meet with. 

"Now, be comforted, Francesco,” said he, at 
last, when he had learned the grief of his 
friend; "thou canst do nothing. Of thy hon- 
esty I have not a doubt ; therefore thou hast no 
need to trouble thyself about that.” 

A mountain seemed lifted from Francesco’s 
breast. His tears of relief thanked his friend. 

"Until I have paid back every penny of it I 
will work for thee without pay,” he vowed. 


Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 149 

“No, thou shalt not, Francesco,” declared 
Klotz, earnestly. “Trouble thyself no more, for 
the good God will make it all right. That is my 
hope.” 

This trust in God honored the master and 
comforted the friend. 

Time had passed since the loss. Matthias had 
ceased to refer to it, but in his heart Francesco 
thought of it constantly. The goodness of his 
friend was ever present to him. He could not 
but reproach himself that he had not guarded 
the packet more carefully, knowing its loss 
would be so great. 

Had Matthias reproached him in this wise 
he would not have felt it so much as when he 
so kindly comforted him with hopeful words. 

Francesco had weakened his health through 
years of fast living, and, although he was not 
actually ill, he had contracted a lasting sick- 
ness and was slowly growing worse. And one 
day he was compelled to admit that he was no 
longer able to go into the workroom. Fran- 
cesco was seriously ill. 

Matthias did all in his power for him, but all 


150 Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 

care was vain. The end was coming, and per- 
haps only a few days were left for Francesco, 
when Klotz was called one morning to the Town 
Hall. Wondering greatly, the master hastened 
thither ; he could not imagine what was required 
of him there. 

The burgomaster greeted him cordially and 
began immediately on the matter for consulta- 
tion. 

“My dear Klotz, you are wanted on some 
weighty business. Your journeyman, Francesco 
Muraldi, was in Augsburg a few weeks ago and 
had four hundred gulden stolen from him, I 
think?” 

Klotz answered in the affirmative. 

“Yesterday there came to me by the carrier 
Reuner a small chest. It came from Mailand. 
A letter from the pastor of that place, which 
came with it, informs me that the chest con- 
tains four hundred gulden, the sum that was 
stolen, to be given to you. The thief was taken 
ill, and made his confession, and, repenting be- 
fore death, left it with the priest to send to you. 
Here it is ; take it.” 


Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 151 

And he handed the little chest to Klotz. 

Matthias went home with flying steps. Im- 
mediately he hastened to the sick man and said : 

“Dear Francesco, I bring thee something 
which will give thee joy. It will make thee well 
again ." 

The countenance of the sick man brightened. 
Klotz told him what was in the little chest. Oh, 
how Francesco's eyes shone with delight ! Great 
tears rolled down his cheeks, signs of his joy 
and peace. His honor was again established — 
all was well. 

Matthias opened the chest; the money lay 
safe within it. He counted the full sum before 
the eyes of Francesco ; not a kreutzer missing. 

Klotz took his friend's hand in his. 

“Dear Francesco," he said, gladly, “the half 
of this money belongs to you ; you have suffered 
in silence more than the whole sum was worth. 
I have seen it, heavy as the loss was to me. How 
it is all made good, thou wilt quickly get well, 
and " 

A terrible coughing spell of the sick man 
interrupted him. The excitement had caused 


152 Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 

it. With dismay Klotz perceived the sorrowful 
truth, that the deceitful illness had already fin- 
ished the course of his poor friend. The last 
drop of the wine of life was drained. 

In an instant he had thrown open the door 
and brought in the priest of the place. The 
sick man had been prepared the day before, by 
his own wish, and all the consolations of holy 
Church were his; the priest had come at this 
time to inquire for Muraldi. 

All exhausted and breathless, the poor fellow 
lay on his bed after the coughing spell, scarcely 
able to open his heavy eyes. He looked toward 
his friend and reached him a weak hand. The 
priest saw that the end had come and began 
the prayers of the Church. 

A light sigh came from the parted lips — the 
poor soul had gone back to its Lord and Maker. 
Klotz sank sobbing beside the body. 

Some months after the death of Muraldi the 
father of Matthias, Urban Klotz, also passed 
away, on the 25th of November, 1691. He had 
lived to see his son, whom he had sent into Italy 
twenty-seven years before, return as a full mas- 


Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 153 

ter of violin making, and through his work the 
name of Klotz spread far and wide. 

******* 

Matthias Klotz outlived his father many 
years. The number of his pupils grew with 
every year; among them were his three sons, 
George, Sebastian, and Karl, whom he instructed 
in the secrets of his art .and made skillful mas- 
ters of it. The instruments which came from 
the Klotz workshop rose higher and higher in 
price and sold for sums held almost fabulous 
at that time. Klotz enjoyed the name of “The 
First Violin Maker of Germany.” 

In extreme old age, when the trembling hand 
of the master could work no more, Klotz vis- 
ited the workshop of his pupils, examined their 
work and gave them many hints as to their im- 
provement. 

He had worked fifty years in his birthplace, 
and ninety years lay heavy on his weary shoul- 
ders. Death drew near the gray old master. 
On the 16th of August, 1743, they bore him to 
eternal rest. He was buried in St. Nicholas’ 


154 Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 

Church, the same church where in life he had 
so often sought help and strength from Heaven. 

Klotz did his birthplace a deathless service; 
he made little Mittenwald the German Cremona. 
As early as the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 
turies the Mittenwald violin makers were to be 
found on all the highways and other roads. 
With a pack, on the outside of which there was 
usually a violin, they passed from one city to 
another, from one country to another. The hon- 
orable business men, with their valuable wares, 
were gladly welcomed everywhere. They not 
only understood how to make violins, but the 
most of them played very well, and thereby 
made many a customer who had not intended to 
buy. And what his playing would not do the 
seller accomplished by his mother-wit and his 
pleasant manner.* 

For a long time the art of violin making was 
held in the Klotz family as a sacred inheritance. 
Men called the brothers Klotz and their rela- 
tions simply “The Violin Makers.” The family 
has now died out, but their art remains to Mit- 

*J. Booder, Chronicle of Mittenwald, p. 197. 


Mittenwald the Cremona of Germany 155 

tenwald and has brought it great renown. To- 
day little Mittenwald supplies nearly half the 
world with violins and other musical instru- 
ments ; from India to Australia, from Africa to 
America, go the distinguished Mittenwald vio- 
lins. Repairing the same occupies the majority 
of the inhabitants of the place. In almost every 
house one finds a violin maker. When one en- 
ters Mittenwald by the church on the so-called 
Gastige he gets the first glimpse into the valley, 
and how it does blink and shine, dangle and 
shake down there! There are the freshly var- 
nished violins, great and small, from the growl- 
ing, gigantic bass viol to the little child’s violin ; 
they hang in row's on long cords in the gardens, 
where the sun and the fresh air dry them. 

In the autumn the violin makers have their 
feast. Their patron saint is St. Cecilia. Little 
did Matthias Klotz think that this saint, 
whose statue he carved in Cremona, was one day 
to receive in Mittenwald so much honor ! 

Matthias Klotz died a plain, modest man, but 
his name will live as long as a violin maker 
lives in Mittenwald. He first brought German 


156 Mittemvald the Cremona of Germany 

violin making to honor, and — what is of great 
importance — he has rendered a service to thou- 
sands and supplied them with bread. Thus did 
this noble man pay his debt as a benefactor of 
mankind. The grateful burghers have erected 
a monument to the master. But more lasting 
than it is the music of the countless violins 
which spread the fame of 

Matthias Klotz. 


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WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES. An Answer to Earnest Inquirers. 

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SPIRITUAL PEPPER AND SALT, for Catholics and Non-Catholics. By 
Rt. Rev. W. Stang, D.D. 161110. Paper, $0.30; cloth, $0.60. 

CATHOLIC CEREMONIES AND EXPLANATION OF THE ECCLESI- 
ASTICAL YEAR. By the Abb£ Durand. With illustrations. i6mo. 
Paper $0.30; cloth, $0.60. 

THE SACRAMENTALS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. Bv Rev. A. 

A. Lambing. With illustrations. 161110. Paper, $0.30 ; cloth,' $0.60. 
EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPELS AND OF CATHOLIC WORSHIP. 
By Rev. L. A. Lambert and Rev. R. Brennan. With illustrations. i6mo. 
Paper, $0.30; cloth, $0.60. 

CATHOLIC PRACTICE AT CHURCH AND AT HOME. The Parish- 
ioner’s Little Rule Book. By Rev. A. L. A. Klauder. With illustrations. 
i6mo. Paper, $0.30 ; cloth, $0.60. 

GOFFINE’S DEVOUT INSTRUCTIONS ON THE EPISTLES AND 
GOSPELS. Illustrated Edition. With Preface by His Eminence Cardi- 
nal Gibbons. 704 pages. 140 illustrations. 8vo, cloth, $1.00. 

LIVES OF THE SAINTS. With Reflections for Every Day. Numerous 
full-page illustrations, 400 pages. 8vo, cloth, $1.50. 

PICTORIAL LIVES OF THE SAINTS. With nearly 400 illustrations, 
600 pages. 8vo, cloth, $2.50. 

For sale by all Catholic booksellers , or sent postpaid on receipt 0/ price 

by the publishers , 


BENZIGER BROTHERS, 

New York: Cincinnati: Chicago: 

36-38 Barclay Street. 343 Main Street. 211-213 Madison Street. 







m\ 1 1905 
































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